Prefontaine - It has been 30 years

Contributed By Sandy | Published: May 31, 2005

Steve Prefontaine

Pre:
The Story of America's Greatest Running Legend, Steve Prefontaine

"A lot of people run a race to see who is fastest. I run to see who has the most guts, who can punish himself into exhausting pace, and then at the end, punish himself even more. Nobody is going to win a 5,000 meter race after running an easy 2 miles. Not with me. If I lose forcing the pace all the way, well, at least I can live with myself."

Steve Prefontaine (1/25/1951 to 5/30/1975) at the time of his passing held every American record from 2000 meters to 10000 meters. In the past or since his passing, this has never happened. Prefontaine ran every one of his races like it was his last. His running exemplified the true passion for running. He was an inspiration.

"I don't just go out there and run. I like to give people watching something exciting."

Steve Prefontaine grew up in Coos Bay Oregon. He grew from a hometown hero, to a record setting college phenomenon, to internationally acclaimed track star. He became a running legend. In Coos Bay, he discovered his gift for running fast by winning just about everything at Marchfield High School. He wanted to show people how to run with all out effort. Just imagine if

"Some people create with words or with music or with a brush and paints. I like to make something beautiful when I run. I like to make people stop and say, 'I've never seen anyone run like that before.' It's more than just a race, it's a style. It's doing something better than anyone else. It's being creative."

"How does a kid from Coos Bay, with one leg longer than the other win races? All my life people have been telling me, 'You're too small Pre', 'You're not fast enough Pre', 'Give up your foolish dream Steve'. But they forgot something, I HAVE TO WIN."

Greatness seemed to come early for Steve. He had aspirations to being a great football player, but his size forced him to go in a different direction. His early success in running produced many accomplishments we as normal runners could only imagine. He won 11 straight races to accomplish an undefeated season. He also won the 2 mile in 8:41:30 which is pretty impressive. He received a letter from the coach of the University of Oregon (his only real choice for college) Bill Bowerman that said: "If you come to the University of Oregon, you can be the best distance runner in the world." He went to the University and never missed a race or even a workout. Over his four years he produced some of the most impressive statistics of any runner. He never lost at Hayward Field (his home track). Pre's legend was formed at Oregon, where thousands of spectators known as "Pre's People " turned up regularly for meets, chanting "Pre, Pre, Pre," as he warmed up and competed.

"You have to wonder at times what you're doing out there. Over the years, I've given myself a thousand reasons to keep running, but it always comes back to where it started. It comes down to self-satisfaction and a sense of achievement."

Some of his important accomplishments:

He ran nine 5,000-meter races faster than 13:30
Pre set American records 14 times
He broke the 4-minute mile eight times
He won 82 of 102 outdoor meets between 1970 and 1975, against top-flight competitors at distances from 1 mile to 10,000 meters

"What I want is to be number one."

Steve Prefontaine was driven to succeed at the highest level. His trademark was burning intensity and a never say die attitude. Steve took his running seriously and was willing to suffer any amount of pain in order to win a race. He trained to win and his attitude of not willing to give in to anything was a reflection of his passion for running.

"To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the Gift."

Steve was not only serious about running, he felt an obligation to many others. He was devoted to art, woodworking and photography. He loved people, especially kids and still remained extremely focused on his running. His perspective on his sport was more than clear. He hate the hypocrisy about Olympic athletes and their struggles to maintain a life of training and feed themselves and their families. "Pre" fought for their right to prosper to make a living and support all of their training needs of all American amateur athletes. When he passed away he was a world class athlete living on $60 a month and eating off of food stamps. He lived in a trailer and only complained about the hypocrisy.

"I'm going to work so that it's a pure guts race at the end, and if it is, I am the only one who can win it."

At the time of his death, many believe that Pre would become the greatest distance runner in the history of the USA. Some believe that he already was the most talented runner in the USA. This was said even as Frank Shorter won the marathon gold medal in Munich which set off the running boom in the country. What would Prefontaine have accomplished if he was still with us? Would he have won gold in Montreal? He was and still is an inspiration to all runners. Let us remember him 30 years after his death.

"A race is a work of art that people can look at and be affected in as many ways they’re capable of understanding."

Some of his times (not all but most of the notable)

Year	Grade	Meet	880	Mile	2Mile	3Mile	5000m	Notes
1967	10	v Reedsport			09:42.1			1st place
1967	10	v Roseburg	02:03.5					1st place
1967	10	SCJV		04:29.1				1st place
1967	10	District			09:52.3			4th place
1968	11	Indian Club Relays		04:13.8				1st place
1968	11	Corvallis Invit.			09:01.3			1st place; state record
1968	11	v North Bend	01:56.2					1st place
1968	11	District			09:13.2			1st place
1968	11	State			09:02.7			1st place
1969	12	v Roseburg	01:54.3					1st place
1969	12	Corvallis Invit.			08:41.5			1st; national HS record
1969	12	District		04:07.4	09:14.3			1st in both
1969	12	State		04:08.4	09:03.0			1st in both
1969	12	Golden West Invitational		04:06.0				1st place; 10th all-time HS
1969	12	AAU Championships				13:43.0		4th place; 3rd all-time HS
1969	12	Hawaii Invit.			08:48.8			2nd place
1969	12	US v USSR					14:40.0	5th place
1969	12	US Europe					13:52.8	3rd place
1969	12	US v W. Germany					14:07.4	2nd place
1969	12	US v Great Britian		04:13.8			14:38.4	4th place
1970	Fresh	v Fresno St., Stanford			08:40.0			1st place
1970	Fresh	v Washington St.				13:12.8		1st place
1970	Fresh	NCAA Champ.				13:22.0		1st place
1970	Fresh	AAU Champ.				13:26.0		5th place
1970	Fresh	US v W. Germany					13:39.6	2nd place
1970	Fresh	US v USSR					13:49.4	2nd place
1970	Fresh	International	03:44.9					1st place
1970	Fresh	Postal				13:25.6		1st place
1971	Soph	Quadrangular			08:33.2			1st place
1971	Soph	Oregon Twilight		03:57.4				2nd place
1971	Soph	NCAA Champ.				12:58.6		1st place
1971	Soph	AAU Champ.				12:58.6		1st place
1971	Soph	v USSR All-Stars					13:30.4	1st; set American Record
1971	Soph	v Africa					13:57.6	1st; lead runner mistook finish
1971	Soph	Pan Am Games					13:52.6	1st place
1972	Jr.	Pac-8 Champ.				13:32.2		1st place
1972	Jr.	NCAA Champ.				13:31.4		1st place
1972	Jr.	Olympic Trials					13:22.8	1st; set American Rcrd; 4th best in world
1972	Jr.	Bislett Games	03:39.4					2nd place
1972	Jr.	Pre-Olympic			08:19.4			1st; set American Record
1972	Jr.	Olympics (heat)					13:32.6	2nd place
1972	Jr.	Olympics (final)					13:28.3	4th place
1972	Jr.	Zauli Memorial					13:26.4	2nd place
1973	Sr.	Quadrangular		03:56.8		13:06.4		1st in both
1973	Sr.	NCAA Champ.				13:05.3		1st; first to win all 4 years
1973	Sr.	AAU Champ.				12:53.4		1st; 6th best in world
1973	Sr.	Hayward Restoration		03:54.6				1st place
1973	Sr.	v W. Germany					13:23.8	2nd place