Yet another reason why Wisconsin fans have no peers:

 On less than 24 hours notice, approximately 1,000 people showed up Tuesday night at the Dan McClimon Memorial Complex to watch the shortest track meet they'll ever see.

 "I'm shocked,'' long-time UW men's track coach Ed Nuttycombe said.

 The crowd came to see what amounted to an uptempo training exercise featuring two former Badgers standouts: Matt Tegenkamp and Chris Solinsky.

 The idea was run the fastest 1,500 meters on state soil.

 Tegenkamp, who will run the 5,000 meters for Team USA in the Summer Olympics next month, obliged with a time of 3 minutes, 37.9 seconds.

 Fitchburg resident Jonathon Riley (3:39.2) and Solinsky (3:40.67) also topped the previous best 1,500 time in the state. That was the 3:42.63 clocking by John Wild of Oklahoma State in 1996.

 Turns out the headline wasn't the athletes -- all training under soon-to-be-ex UW men's cross country coach Jerry Schumacher -- but the atmosphere on a sultry night.

 The crowd -- including 250 high schoolers attending a camp run by Nuttycombe and Schumacher -- lined the track under a full moon and cheered as the runners made their four-lap tour.

 On the infield, Schumacher had a workout of his own, running from point to point, shouting times and insights.

 Afterward, kids and adults alike milled around the participants, collecting autographs and posing for pictures.

 From the time the runners were introduced on the public address system to the last postrace interview with local media, the get-together lasted around 35 minutes.

 UW track fans, like their peers for other Badgers sports, will tell you it was time well spent.