Meet Pre.
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This, my friends, is Steve Prefontaine.
In yesterday's Register Guard there was a memorial article (he died May, 30 1975) and this ad, place by NIKE. One of my favorite quotes from the article: "He was an outspoken athlete who made outrageous predictions that nobody thought he could back up - and then he would go out and prove everyone wrong." Coming across this ad...WOW. I took it and put it right up on my board in my studio.
Pre is a legend. Man, look at those eyes. There have been movies made about his brief life. He came from the tiny little town where my Dad grew up, Coos Bay, Oregon. He was a distance running phenom. Attended the University of Oregon. Eugene is referred to as "track town USA"? This place is big on running. BIG. And in the track and field world...he was a mega star with a BIG attitude and the feet to back it up.
His story has a tragic ending. A car crash here in town killed Steve when he was just 24. At the height of his running career. He held the American Record in every event over a mile.
I love this ad. The text says, "Where are all the rock star runners? He was this kid from Coos Bay, who wanted to run faster than any other human being in the world. A kid that was too small and not fast enough. A kid everyone kept telling to give up a foolish dream. They called him "Pre." The man who ran like fire every day, every race, wire to wire. The man who caused people to stop and say, 'I've never seen anyone run like that before.' A runner who never paced himself, slowed down or quit. But Pre wasn't a runner. He was a rebel who happened to run. Where is the next Pre?"
Oh man that fills me up. Makes me want to run...and I am no runner. I love that he was a dream chaser, literally. Fighting every day to be the best. You can see that determination, that bit of insanity, in his eyes. Serious inspiration.
When people ask what inspires me, I always answer everything. Here is an example of something that spoke to me loud and clear. How it directly translates to a scrapbook page is almost impossible to demonstrate. But it will. In one way or another. The feeling will be expressed. It simply becomes a part of me.
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54 comments
Prefontaine...what a dude. Very cool. Leave it to Nike to make one think.
Where are all the rock stars, period?
c
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This story gave me goosebumps and reminded me of the often quiet potential that lives within us all. Sometimes it's too quiet. But we can never forget it's always there, breathing, waiting . . .
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mmmmm... love the look in his eyes. didn't he inspire the formation of nike or something like that? i once read a book about the beginnings of nike...back when i was doing brand marketing stuff. cool dude.
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THAT is why I read your blog... thanks for that post. May we all be encouraged to find our own source of serious inspiration, drive, determination...
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Ali-
Thanks again for bringing my sweet home state back to me. I lived in Tracktown USA for a year and loved it! Wonder if I will ever make it back there :-)
Cheers,
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Ali,
Thanks!!! for your inspiration in what you write. I am with Kelsey. This is why I read your BLOG. It makes me want to be more than I am. To dream bigger, achieve more and "RUN FASTER" Thanks for sharing your inspirations with me.
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I've always felt that I connect best with people who are passionate about SOMEthing, whether it is art, scrapping, sports, computers, music, whatever...
I def. think this guy fits the bill!
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My husband thanks you for this post. He is a HUGE Pre fan. He loved the ad so tomorrow, I am searching it out for him...couldn't find it online so I will hang at the bookstore until I find it! The ad is totally awesome. I want it for myself!
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Amazing... That's definitely inspiring in so many ways! Thanks for sharing!
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Thank you so much for sharing this. I grew up in Coos County and have ran the PRE several times. He is an inspiration, as are you. :)
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That is so cool that something like that is inspiring to you. Makes me want to find out more about him. I would love to see a movie based on him... do tell if you know of one. Thanks for sharing your inspiration:)
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what an amazing photograph. I would love to see the scrapbook pages that the concept designers at Nike would create!
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I am going to have to show this to Derek. He was a distance runner in high school and college and still runs. Pre is one of his heroes. When we first started dating we watched Prefontaine (the '97 movie, which Derek owns) because Derek was shocked that I didn't know who Pre was at the time. What an inspiration Pre was to not only runers but for people living life to the full.
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Thank you for sharing this. Whenever I need a creative boost I come see what you've posted to your blog, and I always leave inspired.
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Too funny that you talked about "Pre" in your post today. I was listening to KUGN 590 this morning on my way to take Rob to work, and they were talking about the Prefontaine Classic. Made me think of Pre's Trails (where I'm going for a walk today--not much of a runner myself). Made me think of Pre's rock, and most of all, it made me think of how much I'm going to miss Eugene when we move this summer. :( Pre's story is inspiring, as you are also inspiring to so many people.
Thank you for sharing. Have a super fabulous day!
~cc
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His story has always inspired me. Read quite a bit about it. DH is a runner, so he had a book. Now if I remember correctly, I've only seen one of the movies. I think that it was Prefontaine, but I could be confusing it with Without Limits. That was while back, they were released pretty close to the same time. I'm thinking that perhaps we should watch them again.
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great read sistah:)
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great read sistah:)
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I remember Steve Prefontaine! (I'm old.) :)
Nike's "rock star" comparison is interesting to me . . . undoubtedly some of the mystique of Pre is because he died young from wrapping his MG around a rock while he had a blood alcohol level of 0.16. So I think he's a great lesson in giftedness, but also in keeping the passion under control at some level . . . tempering the giftedness with wisdom and humility and discipline. It seems like so many truly gifted people just self-destruct, whether accidentally or on purpose. It's as if all their passion goes into everything, good or bad. So now Pre is kind of stuck in the public consciousness at age 24, beautiful and talented, forever young and amazing.
I don't think these terrible endings should detract from the true giftedness or genius of someone's life, but it always makes me slow down and think about what they could have contributed if they'd been around even longer. And he would have loved, I bet, the addition of Kenyans and Ethiopians into the world's running scene. Maybe Nike can do another poster celebrating some of these amazing runners.
Great post, Ali. :) Thank you.
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Wow, that photo is intense!
Pre really has an amazing story...I used to know a runner who was in awe of him, and made me watch the two movies about him. Incredible movies.
Incredible man. Inspiring.
Thanks for reminding us of him...
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