70s guy wrote:
There was a picture of him after the mile, talking to 'his people' through a megaphone. Thousands showed up just to see him run. Some concerned people tried to talk him out of running that mile due to the heavy smoke in the air, but Pre said he couldn't disappoint the thousands who showed up to see him run.
The "smoke" megaphone picture is on page 127 of Tom Jordan's book.
Endust wrote:
Yeah he had a good work ethic but it wasn't great. He would rarely run distances farther than 10 miles and would insist on running at 6 min pace or faster. His stubborness in races prevented him from running certain times or acheiving certain goals. I agree he was great but he is not someone that I would want my athletes to mirror in training and somewhat in races.
Please elaborate on your time training with Pre! How else would you know this considering everything I have ever read indicated he ran 90-100 miles a week consistently.
yea pre was over rated, fourth in the OLYMPICS, that sucks
yea pre was over rated, fourth in the OLYMPICS, that sucks
fourth is as good as last....
Who'd win in a 5k, Teg or Pre... better yet who'd beat who in a 10k Teg or Pre?
Brady Anderson wrote:
Who'd win in a 5k, Teg or Pre... better yet who'd beat who in a 10k Teg or Pre?
For this discussion, the question is who would win in any distance race... you or pre?
There are some stupid people on this site.
(not talking about Anderson)
You really know nothing on this subject so just shut the hell up. YOUR athletes need someone who actually knows something as a coach instead of a dipsh!t like you.
popey#4 wrote:
fourth is as good as last....
Haha, yeah sure it is.
the smartest race you can run is either negative or even splits. he never did that.
HE RAN NEGATIVE SPLITS AT THE OLY TRIALS AND AT THE OLY.
naferp wrote:
HE RAN NEGATIVE SPLITS AT THE OLY TRIALS AND AT THE OLY.
He drank positive splits of a case of OLY and then........
Pre was not that good. Get over it. Why is there no huge Gamal Belal Salem fan club? He ran 15 seconds quicker than Pre but I doubt anybody here really cares- I certainly don't. He may have had potential, but so does Rupp- and letsrun isn't especially keen on him. The only reason people love Pre so much is that he died young and nike have managed to turn him into their very own Jesus.
don't compare rupp to prefontaine, pre won dozens of championships, and had american records stretching from 2k to 10k, completely different level of accomplishments, and not at dissimilar ages.
if you ain't first, you're last.
I think Pre was a phenomenal runner, but here's something I've always wondered about. Why is it that Pre only got 30 seconds faster in the 5000 from high school to the end of his life? I think he ran a 5K the end of his senior year in 13:52 and then his fastest time ever was 13:21. I know that was setting American records, but I wonder what it says about his potential.
he ran 13:23 in his last race, his 1st 5k of the season. I think that if he would have lived through that summer, he probably would have run close to 13:15 by the end of the 75 season. After all, Duncan McDonald a former miler from Stanford, went on to run a 13:19 beating Pre's AR. Pre's ultimate success would have come in the 10k over the next 5 years or so. He didn't have the finishing speed over the last 200m to win big 5ks.
deleuze wrote:
Endust wrote:Yeah he had a good work ethic but it wasn't great. He would rarely run distances farther than 10 miles and would insist on running at 6 min pace or faster. His stubborness in races prevented him from running certain times or acheiving certain goals. I agree he was great but he is not someone that I would want my athletes to mirror in training and somewhat in races.
You are an idiot.
2nd
Ok, here is what we need to do: have a powerpoint presentation debating weather Pre was one of the best American runners ever or very overrated.
The over-rated group and PRE was the greatest group could each come up with a powerpoint to outline their argument. Pictures, quotes (from anyone, even anonymous letsrun posters), stats (with explanation) and personal opinion are all acceptable for the ppt.
We will draw straws to see who presents first. After the presentation, we will have a debate that will be hosted by Wejo, since this will mainly be a letsrun function. Questions can be asked by anyone in attendance, but must be approved by Frank Shorter to assure that they are not tainted before asked.
Let me know when the powerpoints are ready...
I agree with this assessment. So, if we can play the "I wonder..." game, I speculate he would've been outkicked in the 5000 by Viren in Montreal. Not even the moved-up milers who were gathering around him could match his final move in the last 100m. 55 for the last lap in a quickish race (for that era) would've been tough for Prefontaine to live with.
Then he may have moved up to 10k, with the boycott dashing hopes there. By '84 you could argue he would've been a marathoner. Would've been fun to see him run against Salazar, Treacy and Lopes.