This is another in the “Sunday Story” series – no politics – just a story, this one about an idol, a dream, and a bunch of dedicated kids.
An Oregon Runner
Steve Prefontaine was the premier American distance runner in the 1970’s. He, along with runners Bill Rogers, Frank Shorter; and Oregon Coach Bill Bowerman and his former athlete, Phil Knight, the creators of Nike running shoes, changed American running forever.
Prefontaine was an Oregon high schooler, a dominant state champion, who went onto one of the premier distance running colleges in the United States, Bowerman’s Oregon “Ducks”. At Oregon – “Pre” became a three time NCAA Division I Champion in Cross Country, and four time 5000 meter track champion. Pre was known for his front running style – taking the lead early in races to run his opponents into the ground.
Munich
His junior year in college was the 1972 Olympic year. Prefontaine set the American record in the 5000 meter Olympic Trials to lead the US team to Munich. The Munich Games were tragically interrupted by the terrorist attack on the Israeli Olympic team. Eleven of the Israelis were killed, along with the eight terrorists and one German policeman. The world mourned, but after a two day pause – the games continued.
For the athletes it was nearly impossible to remain focused. Pre competed in the 5000, but changed his normal strategy to run an unusually conservative race from the back of the field. It was only at the beginning of the third mile (the 5000 is 3.1 miles long) that Pre raced to the front. He led into the last lap, when he was passed by two on the back stretch. A third runner passed him with ten meters to go – leaving him off of the podium in fourth place.
The AAU
Prefontaine returned to his senior year at Oregon, and remained undefeated on the collegiate track. After his graduation, he struggled to support himself as an athlete. He tangled with the American leaders of “Amateur” track and field, demanding that athletes gain the opportunity to profit from their performances. Over the next two years, Pre led the fight for a living-wage for athletes in track and field, a struggle that ultimately broke the bureaucratic control of the AAU over the sport in the United States and developed a new organizing body, USA-Track and Field.
Meanwhile he continued to train for the 1976 Olympic games. In 1975, after a successful track meet, and a post meet party – Steve Prefontaine was killed when his car, a gold MG-B, wrecked on the way back to his home in the hills above the city of Eugene, looking down on the University of Oregon.
Pre’s Legacy
Pre’s tragic death at twenty-four passed him into running legend. In the 1990’s two films were made about his life and competition. The first was a made for TV movie – Prefontaine. It came out in 1997, a year when I had a young impressionable group of hard working (and playing) cross country runners. They found a hero in Prefontaine, and his phrases became a staple in encouraging our athletes. “To give anything but your best is to sacrifice the gift” and “somebody may beat me, but they’ll have to bleed to do it” were common sayings in our team gatherings.
Pre’s work ethic became our work ethic. Morning runs started at 5:30 am at my house. Sometimes we were out running as school was cancelled for snow. Those runs were the best – ending up with a soak in the hot tub and breakfast before the kids carefully drove home on the covered roads. And some of those “days off” ended up in another “quest”: to find “the perfect” sledding hill.
Without Limits
It was during that winter that the second Prefontaine movie – a made for theatre film – came out. “Without Limits” was in the “art houses” – not in the “main theatres”. So we loaded up my 15 passenger van and headed to Grandview (near downtown Columbus). I watched their faces as the movie unreeled. The film was as much about them – their thoughts, their doubts, their determination. It was a quiet ride home – each of my runners absorbing the lessons of Steve Prefontaine, the bad (and there was bad) and the good. But most importantly, they began reaching for their “gift”.
That summer the National Track and Field Junior Olympics were held in Seattle, Washington. Four of my runners qualified, and we decided to make a Western trip of it – flying out to Seattle early, then driving down to Oregon. We competed in a small meet at fabled Hayward Field, the home track of the University of Oregon. As the guys ran their warmup, they passed a gold MG-B, parked right outside the stadium. The message to my athletes was received. After the races, medals in hand, the quest for Steve Prefontaine was on.
The Quest
We drove up into the hills above Eugene, and passed the marker where Prefontaine died. On it, engraved into the stone, are these words:
“PRE”
For your dedication and loyalty
To your principles and beliefs…
For your love, warmth, and friendship
For your family and friends…
You are missed by so many
And you will never be forgotten…
The kids stopped, stared at the marker, and laid their hard won medals on the stone. Theirs weren’t the only ones.
The next day we drove over the low mountain range to the coast. We arrived in the fishing town of Coos Bay, where Prefontaine went to Marshfield High School. We ran on “his” track, and through the streets of his town. It was only when one athlete looked up Pre’s parents in the phone book that I finally put a limit on the “quest”. We weren’t bothering them.
The next morning we headed up the coast, stopping at a small coastal village to run our last track workout of the summer. It was early, and the fog hadn’t lifted when we prepared for our speed session. The cloud was so thick, that I couldn’t see the back side of the under-distanced track. The runners disappeared around the turn, then came back into view just as they approached the finish line. It was a transforming experience – running in a cloud, only the immediate track in view, only the sounds of teammates’ efforts and the coach’s disembodied chanting of seconds from the finish line.
Running Down a Dream
It wasn’t all running. We drove dune buggies on the Oregon dunes (I flipped mine, and was given a “dune fine”). I made sure we ate salmon fresh from the river (at least some did, I finished all the salmon they chose not to eat). We visited volcanic mountains, and wandered through Portland. And we sang along the way, Tom Petty’s “Running Down a Dream” and The Who’s “Behind Blue Eyes” at full throated volume, making our way along the coastline. Finally we headed back north to Seattle to prepare for the National Meet.
One of my runners earned All-American status, finishing in eighth in the steeplechase. The others had good performances as well. After the meet we still had a few more days in Seattle, hanging out with my sister, checking out the fish market, downtown and the Space Needle, and going to the longest Seattle Mariners game ever held in Kings County Stadium. Around the seventeenth inning (about midnight) I said it was time to go. We argued – we could be part of a “record” – (I’m just saying) how can we leave? It went twenty-two innings – we heard the final run on the radio on the way back to our hotel.
The Gift
The next day we went partway up Mt. Rainer, high enough to get above the August snow line. Then it was back down to reality, to catch the plane home and get ready for our fall cross country season. Our own dreams were waiting to be fulfilled.
We had our share of victories that year, and an ultimate disappointment. We finished fifth in the state, not where we hoped. But like most endeavors where you dedicate yourself, the journey was as important as the outcome. It was a year of working for a dream, and of making sure we gave nothing less than the best. The journey, not the outcome of any single competition, was the ultimate gift.
The Sunday Story Series
- Riding the Dog – 1/24/21
- Hiking with Jack – 1/31/21
- A Track Story – 2/7/21
- Ritual – 2/14/21
- Voyageur – 2/19/21
- A Dog Story – 2/25/21
- A Watkins Legend – 3/7/21
- Ghosts at Gettysburg – 3/14/21
- Lessons from the State Meet – 3/28/21
- More Lessons from the State – 4/4/21
- Stories from the Road – 4/11/21
- A Bear Wants You – 5/1/21
- My Teachers – 5/9/21
- Old Friends – 5/23/21
- The Gift – 6/6/21
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