Run For The Dream headquarters

Listen to Monday's press conference!

FRESNO, Calif.- Preparations for the inaugural Run For The Dream indoor track meet began earlier this morning with a press conference featuring participating athletes such as Chris Berrian, E.J. Jackson, Randy Williams and Jeff Laynes.

The day-long event takes place on Monday, Jan. 16, and will be held at the Save Mart Center. The unique indoor meet will honor the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., while presenting the community with an opportunity to honor track and field stars of the past along with those of the present and future.

"The focus of this meet will involve the fans," said Fresno State head coach Bob Fraley, who enters his sixth season as the director of track and field and 26th overall with the Bulldogs. "We hope to reach out to all areas of the community and create a family atmosphere where parents and children come together as a family to enjoy the excitement of head-to-head competition. We want fans to leave the Save Mart Center feeling that they have established an emotional connection with the athletes and believing that they have made a difference in the performance of the athletes."

The "Run For The Dream" meet is currently one of only two scheduled track and field meets in the United States that will be held in a large indoor sport arena. The same 160-meter track surface from the former Sunkist Invitational Track and Field Invitational (Los Angeles Sports Arena) will be used inside the Save Mart Center.

The meet will include youth, high school, junior college, open-intercollegiate and professional divisions. Events will start with preliminary heats in the morning and top qualifiers moving on to the late-afternoon finals.

Other events scheduled that weekend leading up to the "Run For The Dream" competition occur on Saturday, Jan. 14. A clinic featuring instruction from world-class competitors and former Olympians will take place Saturday morning, leading up to the "Track and Field Golden Hour Banquet" later that evening which honors the contribution of San Joaquin Valley track and field athletes.