Devon Allen continues to remind the track and field community that he’s back and only getting better. Another day on the track, and Allen left no doubts, taking the 110-meter and 400-meter hurdles at Hayward Field at the Oregon Relays.
Even after a year absence recovering from a knee injury, Allen’s conditioning has made a big impact on his early performance.
“I’m in pretty good shape,” said Allen. “I’m doing a lot of races, so it takes a lot out of me anyways. I feel good. I’m in a good position.”
After a busy seven days competing last weekend in the Pepsi Invitational and now the Oregon Relays, Allen is planning to go easy until the bigger meets.
Allen chose a hectic schedule of races because of his training. “I didn’t get to train as long as most of the guys in the season,” he said. “So I got to catch up with volume.”
Catching up with volume will mean taking it easy in the coming weeks.
“I’m going to take the next six weeks off,” said Allen. “Not off, but I’m going to take it lighter until Pac-12s and nationals.”
The 110 hurdles were marred by a false in what Allen said was caused by a motorcycle revving up before the start. Allen was unsure coming into the meet whether he would compete.
“I wasn’t going to run the 110 until I got here,” he said. “It was like 70 degrees and it was a perfect day to run.”
Allen took the event in 13.48 seconds, but was left frustrated after crossing the finish line. “I was a little frustrated because I wanted to run faster with 1.9 tailwind,” he said.
After taking the win in 4×100 relay, Allen had a brief rest before the 400 hurdles. He made clearing the hurdles look easy, cruising to a mark of 51.32 for the win. He knocked down the final hurdle but said the last hurdles are the toughest with all the energy put into the race.
Happy with the results, Allen is pushing himself to get better. He is hoping to get the school records in his signature events. He owes his performances for what he puts into training. “I’m excited, I’m consistent and I keep on getting better,” he said. “I just need to clean up a few things.”
Oregon coach Robert Johnson agreed, knowing Allen can fix some mistakes.
“I think he will be a little disappointed with hitting the last hurdle on the 400,” he said. “Those things he will go back and we will try to clean up, but other than that, that’s just the competitor and who he is. Mr. Perfection.”
Allen is unsure if he will compete in the Oregon Twilight, but remains optimistic going forward after two successful meets. “I’m really happy with my conditioning,” he said. “Overall, I did pretty well.”
