Pre: Still America’S Standard

Reprinted from The Register-Guard Eugene, Oregon May 30, 2005 Page A1 Pre: Still America’s Standard Thirty years ago today, the community of Eugene awoke to the mind-numbing news that America’s greatest distance runner – Steve Prefontaine – was dead. At age 24, with his best years still ahead, the incomparable “Pre” was killed when his sports car overturned at a blind curve on Skyline Drive near Hendricks Park. Pre’s story is not simply one of a gifted athlete dying young. It’s the story of a bold runner who would make brash predictions and then fulfill them, of an outspoken rebel who helped expose the hypocrisy of amateurism, a pioneer who set the tone for a fledgling company called Nike, and an intense competitor who inspired generations of U.S. distance runners by never giving anything less than his best. There will never be another Pre. He remains the standard by which all other U.S. runners are judged. See story in Sports, Page B1 Page B1 – Sports “Steve was a real person, and you don’t find real people very often in this world.” – NETA PREFONTAINE , SISTER OF STEVE PREFONTAINE PRE LIVES The legacy of the brash and talented Steve Prefontaine is very much alive on the 30th anniversary of his death BY CURTIS ANDERSON The Register-Guard Elfriede Prefontaine will be in the West Grandstand at Hayward Field on Saturday, surrounded by friends and family at the annual Prefontaine Classic track and field meet. For the first time, however, her husband of 56 years, Ray, will not be there; he passed away last December. Still, when she speaks of their last visit to Pre’s Rock – the memorial at the site of her son’s death – it’s difficult not to use the pronoun “we.” “We don’t go there very often,” she said. “The few times we were there, we put flowers down. That’s all we can do for Steve.” Elfriede Prefontaine is comforted by the fact that, 30 years after the death of her son, the spirit and legacy of Steve Prefontaine, better known as “Pre,” have never been more alive. The memory of America’s greatest distance runner continues to inspire new generations of runners all over the world. “It’s hard to believe,” she said. “Ray and I always thought it was amazing that Steve is remembered all these years. I think it was his charisma, hard work, and attitude of never giving less than your best. People relate to those values. He was always down to earth and became an inspiration to so many of all ages. It warms our hearts, and it’s a great tribute to Steve.” 2 Prefontaine: renowned for talent, straightforwardness, charisma “Pre’s Rock,” located at the blind curve on Skyline Boulevard where Pre was killed at the age of 24, when his sports car overturned in the early morning of May 30, 1975, is a solemn spot to those who visit. Crescent Valley track coach Ted Pawlak stops by each year with a group of young runners during the state high school championships. He wants them to understand the tradition and roots of the sport they are beginning to embrace. “We run up here every year, and when the kids see all the things that have been left behind, I know they’re touched by that,” Pawlak said. “This is always going to be a special place, particularly if you’re a runner. These kids have learned so much about Pre, after they visit here, they feel like he’s a part of their generation too.” The shrine itself is a half-ton stone with an inscribed tribute from a running club that Pre founded at the state penitentiary, accompanied by a photo of the fiery-eyed runner. Running shoes, race numbers, hats, medals, ticket stubs, wristbands, and other personal items can be found there. “Pre was one of my heroes when I ran in high school. He competed with a swagger and he was always willing to go for it,” Pawlak said. “When I bring the kids up here, it’s the end of track season and the beginning of cross country. We gather together and pledge to do the best we can; we’re always taken by the moment. Constantly in motion Pre never won an Olympic medal. He never set a world record. Yet, at the time of his death, the former University of Oregon runner held every American Shadowed by 34-year-old George Young during the record from 2,000 meters to 10,000 meters. 1972 Olympic Trials at Hayward Field, the front- “After three decades, people tend to forget just running Pre dropped the four-time Olympian with 2 laps how good he was at the time compared to the remaining to win the 5,000 meters in an American athletes he was running against,” said Tom Jordan, record of time of 13:22.8. the author of Pre: The Story of America’s Greatest Running Legend , and the Pre Classic meet director Yet, Pre’s story is not just about a gifted runner for the past 21 years. who died before his time. “When he won the 5,000 meters at the Olympic He was an outspoken athlete who made Trials in 1972, he became the third-fastest outrageous predictions that nobody thought he performer of all time at the age of 21. When you could back up – and then he would go out and consider he did that without any pace-setters, and prove everyone wrong. Though he ran for the pure having to worry about George Young drafting right love of track and field, through his activism he behind him, all that makes him pretty exceptional.” helped usher in the sport’s professional era. 3 Pre was the first “national public relations decades since his death, Pre’s story has been kept manager" for a fledgling company called Nike, a alive by a book, a film documentary, a 10K road title he made up himself. When you visit Nike’s race in Coos Bay, an exhibit at the Coos Art world headquarters in Beaverton, one of the first Museum, a jogging trail and memorial in Eugene, buildings you enter is Prefontaine Hall. and the Prefontaine Classic track and field meet. Phil Knight, the former Oregon runner who co- Besides growing legions of athletes and fans founded Nike, Inc., along with Pre’s coach, the late from all over the world, the keepers of Pre’s flame Bill Bowerman, once said: “He not only set a tone include a host of his contemporaries who have for his sport, for me at least, he set a tone for this moved from competition to the coaching ranks, whole company.” drawing on Pre’s story as a means of education, Knight’s voiceover was used for in a TV motivation and inspiration. commercial that was to be broadcast on TBS and He remains the standard by which all other U.S. ESPN this past weekend, the first time Pre has been distance runners are judged. used in a television spot, and only the second time In 1995, Bob Kennedy, the American record- Knight has participated in a commercial. holder in the 3,000 and 5,000 meters, told The It will be broadcast again over the Pre Classic Register-Guard : “When you are an up-and-coming weekend, and today’s Register-Guard contains a runner in the U.S., and making some breakthroughs full-page ad that is Nike’s tribute to the 30th in distances, Pre is still the man you are compared anniversary of Pre’s death. to. It’s always based on Pre.” For all his perceived brashness, Pre was respectful of his competition and admired for his ‘A real person’ willingness to give back to the sport. Constantly in motion, he never hesitated to spend time with kids Rarely does a day pass that both of Pre’s sisters at clinics, after speaking engagements or while – 51-year-old Linda Prefontaine of Eugene – and signing autographs. 63-year-old Neta Prefontaine of Coburg – don’t talk to somebody who recalls their brother and wants to His legacy of toughness and blue-collar roots express their admiration for the gutsy runner. captured people’s imagination. And in the three Linda Prefontaine was on a business trip to Little Rock, Ark. last month when she handed her card to a potential customer. The inevitable question followed, and when she responded that yes, she was related to Pre, the office manager told her one of his co-workers would love to meet her. “His name was Dave Prince and he used to run for one of the Nike clubs back east,” she said. “He was in his mid-50s, so he was from that same generation. He came to meet me and he was so stunned and so moved, he got tears in his eyes and then apologized for being so emotional. “I told him he didn’t have to apologize. It was a genuine and heartfelt response, and we ended up talking for an hour. We’ve talked on the phone a couple of times since then, and he wants to come out here next year for the track meet. He’s already told his wife.” Linda Prefontaine believes the two movies – “Without Limits,” by Warner Bros., and “Prefontaine,” by Disney – as well as the documentary “Fire on the Track,” have all had a tremendous influence in keeping her brother’s spirit alive, especially when today’s track coaches use them as tools to promote Pre’s competitive nature.

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