Steve Prefontaine is an American icon. He was an early employee of the start-up company NIKE, which he worked for Jeff Hollister in a small sports marketing department. He was a brilliant runner, indoor track and field runner, and focused outdoor distance runner. While at Nike, Steve’s legacy included a pair of NIKE Boston’s with a handwritten note. Bill Rogers who would wear them to his first Boston win in April 1975.
Steve Prefontaine died May 30, 1975coming home from a party after a track meet where he ran 5,000 meters. Steve organized a series of small meets in Oregon, hoping to compete against the best Europeans, especially Lasse Viren, in front of his home crowd. Steve had helped organize the series and was disappointed when Viren canceled before the races.
Steve died in a car accident, mistakenly called a single car accident. Most of the story is written by the late, great Kenny Moore Bowerman and the Oregon Men, but I fear the true story will never be told.
In the end, Steve Prefontaine died much earlier than he should have. Many, like me, still idolize him, and I have to say that back in 2008, one of my favorite projects was a huge poster spread (designed by Weiden & Kennedy) of NIKE’s Steve Prefontaine celebrating his life. I still have a few of these in my storage units.
I wanted to celebrate his life today. So here they are, in no particular order Six classes that I have learned The Life and Times of Steve Prefontaine.
- Summer running is a wonderful thing. After missing the Oregon State track and field meet his sophomore year, Steve Prefontaine trained furiously throughout the summer to get fit and ready to race his junior year. That’s partly why RunBlogRun publishes (and has since 2007) daily summer running programs for high school and junior high athletes.
Steve Prefontaine during the summer of his sophomore year, photo by Marshfield High School/TFN News - Consistency is the secret sauce to long distance running. During Steve’s time at Oregon, his coach was a 1964 Olympic bronze medalist Bill Dellinger, Oregon graduate and generational great coach and advisor. Bill Dellinger has pointed out to me more than once in coaching clinics and interviews that one of the most incredible things about Steve Prefontaine is that Steve never missed a scheduled practice during his four years at the University of Oregon.
Steve Prefontaine with trainer Bill Dellinger after practice, photo by The Eugene Register-Guard - Learn from your hard experiences. Steve Prefontaine put so much pressure on himself at the 1972 Munich Olympics. The Munich 5,000 meters was one of the greatest five thousand meter races of all time. Lasse Viren, Mohamed Ghamudi, Ian Stewart and David Bedford were among the best distance runners in the world and Prefontaine beat them to finish fourth, with Ian Stewart caught near the finish line. Prefontaine was in ruins. David Bedford told me a story about him and Steve having a few beers after the race. After that, according to his friends, Steve has changed a little. he relaxed but remained focused on being the best distance runner he could be.
John Walker, Steve Prefontaine, Rod Dixon, running inside, photo by Don Chadez - Take on the challenges. Dave WattleThe 1972 Olympic gold medalist in the 800 meters told me about Steve running in front of HIS crowd at Hayward Field at the Staten Island Heroes and Youth Gala last November on June 20, 1973. Hayward Restoration Meet. In that race, Dave Wattle told me again, fifty years later, how Steve gave Dave no quarter, no break, and fought him to the finish. Wattle won in 3:53.3, then ran the 3rd fastest mile of all time. Steve finished in 3:54.6, leading most of the race, making him one of the fastest milers in the world in 1973. And at that time Steve Prefontaine was known as a 5000 meter runner. I’ll never forget the look on Dave Wattle’s face as he told me the story. Her respect for Steve had spanned fifty-two years.
This is a photo of the NIKE waffle racers that Steve Prefontaine used in 1974-75. They sold at Sotheby’s for much more than the suggested retail price, photo at Sotheby’s. - Do good deeds. In Tom Jordan’s must-read classic, Pre!, Tom writes that Steve spent time in an Oregon prison where he helped inmates develop a running program. Even after Steve’s death, inmates continued to run, including a group that ran a marathon inside the prison. Steve didn’t have to volunteer, but he did anyway.
Kenny Moore with Steve Prefontaine, photo courtesy of Jeff Johnson, Walt Chadwick - Enjoy your friends. I was lucky to grow up in about a generation Steve Prefontaine. Several of my friends have told me stories about having a good time with Steve after the races and his sense of humor. In a storybook Best effortsThe late Kenny Moore, 1972 Olympic gold medalist (1976 silver medalist), described Steve Prefontaine as: Steve was a sophisticated 25-year-old who was a few years from his death when he died.
Cooper Institute, 1975, photo by Cooper Institute
Top Row LR Dr. Mike Pollock, Kenny Moore, Steve Prefontaine, Jim Crawford, Ted Castaneda, Philip Ndu, unknown, Dr. Kenneth Cooper. Middle Row: Jeff Galloway, Doug Brown, Russell Pate, Perry Pittman, Gary Tuttle, Richard Pettigrew, Mike Manley. Bottom line: Unknown, Ron Wayne, Jim Johnson, Paul Gase, Don Cardong, Unknown, Frank Shorter, from Frank Shorter
