It's a hot, humid morning on the last day of July and the winds of change are gusting through the lives of Jerry Schumacher and Matt Tegenkamp.

Schumacher is driving a borrowed black Jeep Wrangler because he just handed in the late-model car he drove courtesy of his former job as men's cross country coach at the University of Wisconsin.

He's also without a cell phone — not that he used the school-issued Blackberry much in the first place — because that was turned over in advance of his final day on the UW clock.

"I'll get my own (cell phone) eventually," Schumacher said, sounding like the task was well down on his priority list.

Meanwhile, Tegenkamp, a former seven-time All-American for the Badgers, arrived for a brisk 45-minute workout at the McClimon Track fresh off a jolt of his own.

The cozy, stylishly appointed home he and his wife, Michelle, share near the UW campus had a "For Sale" sign planted in the front yard earlier in the day.

"It's going to be hard," Tegenkamp said. "Michelle and I, we found this place and we were definitely settling down. We love this area. Madison, for me, has been my home for eight years now going on nine.

"It'll be tough. We'll miss Madison. We've had great support here."

The two men are leaving for the same destination, for the same rationale.

Schumacher resigned his post at UW after 10 years to coach elite American distance runners on behalf of Nike, which is based in Beaverton, Ore. Tegenkamp is a prominent member of that stable, which means both will soon be relocating to the Pacific Northwest.

But first they must make an appearance on the world's biggest stage.

When Tegenkamp runs for Team USA in the 5,000 meters at the Beijing Olympics — preliminaries are Wednesday, the finals Saturday — he will do so with Schumacher within earshot.

The moment is a testament to their shared sense of patience, instinct and devotion to a plan.

Their collaboration began in 2001 when Schumacher recruited Tegenkamp, from Lee's Summit, Mo., to come to his budding dynasty at UW.

It continued through a college career that saw both men learn some hard lessons about expectations and maturation.

It only recently began to evolve the way Schumacher and Tegenkamp hoped when they changed training tactics in midstream.

'A chance to shine'

Since graduating from UW with a degree in human ecology in 2005, Tegenkamp has set an American record in the 2-mile, run the fourth-fastest 5,000 in U.S. history and established himself as one of the top long-distance talents in the world.

"He's got everything it takes to be one of the great ones," Schumacher said.

Tegenkamp, 26, might be the best UW track athlete never to win a NCAA individual title. That, believe it or not, was almost by design.

Tegenkamp spent the first two years of his college career trying to get his physical and psychological bearings.

He was in the process of adding 4 inches to his 6-foot-1 frame. He was pushing his body harder than ever before in training. Typical of almost all college students, he also wasn't eating well or getting enough sleep. A series of nagging injuries was the result.