RIP Pre: January 25, 1951 - May 30, 1975

Memorial Day marked the 30th anniversary of the death of America's premiere distance runner, Steve Prefontaine. Not only was Pre an running icon at the dawn of the fitness movement, he was instrumental in the creation of Nike and the reorganization of world amateur track events. At the time he died, Pre owned every American record from 2000 to 10,000 meters, and from 2 to 6 miles. Because some of the distances he ran are no longer contested, some of his records stand to this day. His accomplishments are too numerous to mention; go instead to the University of Oregon's excellent summation of his racing career or this official site for the mind-bending numbers. Nike is also running an interesting ad campaign describing his life.

The U of O reference hints at my interest in the man. My grandparents have lived in Eugene for more than fifty years, and my family and I were living with them in May 1975, awaiting the birth of my sister, who would arrive three weeks hence. Pre lost his life in a single car accident on a little road in the hills above the U of O, about a quarter mile from where my great-grandparents once lived. For those who do not know, the University of Oregon was, and to some extent still is, the center of the American collegiate running universe; Pre was a big reason why.

Being a little kid, I wasn't aware of the accident at the time. However, thanks to a movie called Without Limits, I was brought back to the story. In my humble estimation, Without Limits is one of the finest sports movies in existence. Qualifying the film as a "sports" movie accurately describes the subject matter, but unfairly and unintentionally diminishes its power as a great film, period. I became a Billy Crudup fan because of this movie; he bears an uncanny physical resemblance to Pre, and gives a masterful performance depicting a complicated, driven person. Donald Sutherland, as coach Bill Bowerman, was beautifully understated in his role as Pre's muse, tormentor, teacher, friend and business partner. The movie was filmed in Eugene, including Hayward Field, which still looks much as it did when Pre ruled the track there. I have had the privilege of running on that track, which is a surreal experience when one is mindful of the history that has taken place in those lanes.

Pre's Rock, where he crashed his car, is now a shrine where runners leave tokens of their craft in memory of Pre. If you have any interest at all in Pre's story, Without Limits is a pretty powerful memorial in its own right.