For Pre

I don't know where to begin. 'Pre' for those of you who may not know is the nickname of Steve Prefontaine, and is what most people called him or referred to him as. Some say he was the greatest long distance runner of all time; based not only on his talent and work ethic, but what he did for the sport of long distance running and track and field. "Pre Lives" is more than an idea, it's a kinetic life force that continues to propagate year after year.

Something came over me, or comes over me emotionally when i saw (on tv) or see (via the internet) the old Nike commercials "Pre Lives"; and/or the old footage of him interspersed with other athletes who wore Nikes over the last several decades that aired frequently during the Summer Olympics. Its like seeing an entity that lives deep inside of me and countless others come to fruition for a few brief fleeting moments...

Pre brought a certain panache to running, he filled stadiums, he moved people to chant his name "Pre Pre Pre" during track meets in his home state of Oregon. Perhaps it was the innocence of sports back then some 35- 40 years ago. Someone who put on a show for his fans, not for the love of money, but for the love of doing something as good as, or better than anyone on the face of the planet could at the time. He made running cool, inspired thousands to strap on a pair of sneakers and hit the roads, trails, or tracks where they lived. It was about finding one's inner resources, one's inner child, and not giving a darn what the world around thought.

For me it was about cutting up old brightly colored t-shirts and making crazy bandanas to tie around my head and flying around a cinder track at break neck speeds at practices, feeling the wind at my back, challenging myself to squeeze every ounce I had out of my body, mind and spirit in order to run perhaps just a little faster in a race than i did the time before. In a way, the same now holds true today... whether on a much simpler scale it be the solitude of an easy jog in the woods, or lining up at the start of a race marshalling the courage and guts to give it my all. He was oft quoted and had a marvelous way with words. "To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the Gift," is perhaps his finest jewel of wisdom. To limit this to the world of running would be almost be a disservice.

Sadly our heroes have this penchant for dying young, and in Pre's case it would be naive to think that this unfortunate fact doesn't in some way contribute to his iconic status in the world of running and sports. His death at age 24 left everyone wondering just what more he could have done had he lived. He placed 4th in the 5000M in the '72 Olympics in Munich, as the youngest competitor (age 21) there in the distance events. He returned to the University of Oregon and never lost another race in the NCAAs, and held just about every American distance record at the time of his death. He was training for the '76 Olympics in Montreal.



"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." ~ Pre

"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." ~ Pre