Would Steve Prefontaine be relevant today?

Factor in the advanced training, the technology, cryosuana's the improved diets, supplements, the altitude tents, therapeutic use exemptions TUE's etc and he would be way up there.

Those are still very much national class times and in addition to the other benefits today's runners have noted above, remember that his times were done in the days before they had rabbits and races done purely for fast times. He also ran clean, which IMHO nobody is doing today if they are running sub-3:30 or sub-27:00.

Pre's 5000m & 10,000m records were set at age 23. It took Galen much longer to hit his current PBs.

His Trials record in the 5000 stood until 2012, and he did it basically solo.

How many times have we seen guys who needed the Olympic standard trying to push the pace and run 13:21 solo? They never succeed. I absolutely think that Pre today would have been a 13:05 guy. It's hard to run significantly faster than your competition.

Also factor in social media, and Prefontaine would be a complete "rock star" today.

He wouldn't even be the top stupid drunk of this era as Wanjiru has that spot locked up.

Or... wrote:

He wouldn't even be the top stupid drunk of this era as Wanjiru has that spot locked up.

^ ... andddddd the stupid troll has arrived at last. What took you so long?

Para Trooper wrote:

s. He also ran clean, which IMHO nobody is doing today if they are running sub-3:30 or sub-27:00.

CLEAN? You're joking. I've heard from multiple sources say he was the first distance runner on steriods. Look at pictures of him. Looks normal until 1972 then suddenly his body exploded.

CLEAN? You're joking. I've heard from multiple sources say he was the first distance runner on steriods. Look at pictures of him. Looks normal until 1972 then suddenly his body exploded.

Please say you're joking and move on.

This is a great discussion without the trolls.

I often wonder, even for myself and my modest abilitie,s how much of a difference modern shoe technology, training methods, even stretching routines, would make.

So you aren't arguing with the content, you just find it offensive to your blue collar fanboyism?

Marmite then? wrote:

Or... wrote:

He wouldn't even be the top stupid drunk of this era as Wanjiru has that spot locked up.

^ ... andddddd the stupid troll has arrived at last. What took you so long?

Yes he would be relevant. He would also run much faster today with all the advances as well. He would probably have solo'd ~ 13:10 5k in college. Love him or hate him, he makes a lot of other runners look like pussies these days.

a lot of distance running is in the head, enough to account for improvements when your competition is improving. Prefontaine would be among the best Americans today in his prime--i.e. if he hadn't gotten into the car crash and was teleported to this time in his mid 20s.

It's the mile time, 3:54, and the strength and the fact that he front-ran a lot of those times, that gives me confidence that he'd contend today. The mile time is barely off of what Jager has done (though faster at 1500m).

No

/thread

Bethoven and Mozart wouldn't be relevant today. Humans continue to get faster, better, more talented. Pre probably would today, but 10 years from now? No.

Drugfontaine wrote:

Para Trooper wrote:

s. He also ran clean, which IMHO nobody is doing today if they are running sub-3:30 or sub-27:00.

CLEAN? You're joking. I've heard from multiple sources say he was the first distance runner on steriods. Look at pictures of him. Looks normal until 1972 then suddenly his body exploded.

The cheating culture at Oregon started long before Salazar, with Bowerman. It would be very surprising if Pre wasn't on steroids. No doubt that if Pre was on even better dope like Rupp and Centro, and with the other NOP gimmicks, he would be 13/27 flat.

He would be 65 years old. Probably be an NBC commentator. I bet he would be way better that Masback.

Dirty stinking hippie would be a scrub.

crazy and sleazy wrote:

The cheating culture at Oregon started long before Salazar, with Bowerman.

Completely baseless and meaningless statement without evidence presented. Seriously, you don't even give an anecdotal I-heard-it-through-the-grapevine-when-I-ran-there reference. You are a lying troll. Do not post here again.