More than potatoes sprout in Boise nowadays

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BOISE, Idaho -- When people think Boise, they usually think potatoes. This weekend, however, more than 500 of the nation's top masters track and field athletes are here thinking competition.

An odd place to hold a national championship? That's what many athletes were saying two years ago when the city, best known for 17,000-student Boise State University and its sports teams, was awarded the 2005 indoor championships.

In fact, this is a fine venue for a track championship. Situated at 2,842 feet where the flat desert gently meets the Rocky Mountains, the capital city of the nation's 43rd state has pristine air, ample green space and a friendly, unhurried atmosphere.

If population growth is any indication of Boise's allure, this is one happening city. The head count here has more than doubled in the last couple of decades to 193,000, and the metropolitan area is home to more than 432,000.

For the exercise enthusiast, the city offers 2,700 acres of park and urban trails. Much like Washington has its bike path along the Potomac, Boise has its Greenbelt along the Boise River.

The path, snaking more than 25 miles while skirting the downtown area, is a mecca for runners, cyclists, walkers and strollers. One middle-aged woman, who was strapping on her roller blades near a water fountain I was using, begged me not to brag about this scenic and pacifying trail to my friends back home because the city already has enough people.

It was difficult not to imagine moving here while enjoying a sunny 70-degree day as the Washington area was being punished with rain and temperatures in the 40s.

The warmth was a little premature, the roller blader clarified. In fact, it was so warm that one of the ski areas 16 miles from downtown -- Bogus Basin -- announced it will shut down for the season today, its earliest closing ever.

The actual location of the championship is not in Boise but 20 minutes west in Nampa, Idaho's second most populous city. Nampa is where Boise State's track team competes in the Idaho Sports Center on a six-lane banked blue track with a Mondo synthetic surface.

Jacksons Track opened in 2002 and looks strikingly similar to the banked indoor facility used for the USA Indoor Track & Field Championships at Atlanta's Georgia Dome. No wonder: It is the same track, taken apart after the 2001 meet and rebuilt here.