Magee-Samuelson Track
Whittier Field is the home of the Jack Magee Track. The
beautiful Hubbard Grandstand was designed and built in 1903. The
Magee Track was constructed in 1970 as a tribute to Bowdoin coach
Jack Magee, who led the Polar Bears from 1910 through 1960.
The Magee Track was the site of a 1972 Olympic Training Camp that
brought American Olympic athletes including Steve Prefontaine to
Bowdoin for the summer before the Munich Olympics. The track has
also hosted dozens of college and high school championship in
addition to the Maine Distance Festival.
The six lane all-weather track was renovated during the summer of
2005 thanks to a generous grant from the Nike corporation. Nike
donated the track renovation in honor of their corporate
relationship with Joan Benoit Samuelson, a 1979 Bowdoin graduate
and the 1984 Olympic Marathon champion.
