Organized by the Oregon Track Club, it was previously one of the IAAF Grand Prix events, and is now part of the Diamond League.

At the 2001 Prefontaine Classic, Alan Webb competed against elite international runners, in a field that included world record holder Hicham El Guerrouj, and the 2000 Sydney Olympics 1500m bronze medalist Bernard Lagat.

[44] Webb ran 3:53.43 in the Bowerman Mile and broke Jim Ryun's national high school record that had stood for 36 years.

Maria de Lurdes Mutola won 16 consecutive (1993–2008) women's 800 m races at the Pre Classic.

In the 2023 Prefontaine Classic & Diamond League Final, on September 16, Norwegian athlete Jakob Ingebrigtsen won the Bowerman Mile, in a time of 3:43.73, with the aid of pacing lights and pacemakers Erik Sowinski & Cameron Myers.