EUGENE, Ore. — There is no end to the subplots in the men's 1,500-meter run, which begins today as the Olympic track and field trials resume at Hayward Field.

There is Lopez Lomong, who as a 6-year-old ran for three days through the wilderness of the Sudan to escape the murderous Janjaweed militia, then in 2000 walked 5 miles from his refugee camp in Kenya and paid five shillings to watch the Olympics for the first time, on a black and white TV.

There are local collegiate runners David Torrence of Cal and Russell Brown and Garrett Heath of Stanford. Not to mention the irrepressibly quirky Gabe Jennings, now 29, who was an Olympic semifinalist as a Stanford undergrad in 2000.

By the time the 1,500 final goes off Sunday afternoon — the last event of these trials — the race likely will come down to this matchup: Bernard Lagat vs. Alan Webb.

Born in Kenya, Lagat ran at Washington State, has lived in the U.S. for a dozen years and became an American citizen in 2004. Twice an Olympic medalist in the 1,500 for his native country, he won both the 1,500 and 5,000 at the World Championships last year while wearing a U.S. team uniform.

"It means a lot to me," said Lagat, 33, who won the 5,000 on Monday night and appreciates the magnitude of a potential victory in Beijing. "The big dream is here for me now."

The closest Webb has gotten to the track this week was Monday night as he watched the stirring 800 final. But

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he has history at Hayward Field. In 2001, he broke Jim Ryun's national high school mile record at the Prefontaine Classic and was tapped as the sport's savior in this country.

"I really don't think about that too often," Webb said this week. "Somebody told me every seven years you become a different person. It's a totally different game to me now. How I see things and how I approach it is different. My confidence is different."

Webb has had ups and downs since then, including an early-round washout at the 2004 Olympics. But he enjoyed a spectacular 2007 season, including an American-record run of 3 minutes, 46.91 seconds in the mile.

"Last year was a time when I felt like pretty much no matter what happens, no matter what you do, I'm going to win the race," said Webb, 25. "The zone is having that confidence. It's a thing in sports that once you're in it, you're in it. Once you're out of it, you're trying to get back in it."

Right now, Webb is trying to get back in it. After a winter during which he worked longer and harder than ever to give himself every chance this summer, he hit a plateau. Running in the Carlsbad 5000 on April 6, he dropped out with a half-mile left, complaining of dead legs.

"In my mind I was just frustrated and confused," he said. "Things had been going so great in my training. 'What is going on? Why am I struggling?'"

Webb backed off his training, and has run just twice on the track this spring, including at the Pre Classic, where he posted a 3:55.47 mile in his outdoor debut.

He said he's actually looking forward to tonight's quarterfinal race — he and Lagat are paired in the same prelim — just to help develop some rhythm. He acknowledged feeling an urgency about his pursuit of an Olympic medal but said there is no panic.

"In the past I might have gotten real frantic or something," he said, referring to his April training re-boot. "Just having had a couple times where I've struggled in my career, then returned even better, it's 'Hey, let's relax. Keep turning those legs over.'

"As long as you do that, as long as you still want it ... if the answer is yes, just keep going."

There are fewer questions facing the supremely confident Lagat, who appeared relaxed as he kicked past the 5,000 field to win and earn one of three Olympic team spots available in each event.

"I have no pressure," Lagat said. "I'm on Team USA already."

Webb is eager to join him.

Contact Jeff Faraudo at jeffscribe@aol.com.