Pre's crash from car racers perspective

In the 70's drinking and driving was viewed completely different than it is today. The fact that no one said anything to him while he was leaving the party would have been normal in 1975. HE WAS DRUNK. .16 is very telling.

wejo wrote:

I just am amazed at the lengths stories and articles about him go to gloss over the fact it likely contributed to his death.

This is a good point. DARE is a waste of money; MADD is a joke; and all of the scare-tactic-driven, just-say-no, this-is-your-brain-on-dope commercials are immemorable and ineffective. But allow the unfortunate truth about someone's personal hero to be known, and it might actually make a difference between whether or not he or she decides to take to the roads after a few drinks.

wejo wrote:

I'm surprised the article took it for granted Pre had 1 beer the night he died.

Yes a lot of things might have contributed to Pre's death but it seems like such an article should include alcohol in the list as possibility. If you're going to speculate a tape deck might have distracted him, how about the possibility he was buzzed as well?

Does that make Pre a drunk? No. Does that mean he deserved to die? Far from it.

I just am amazed at the lengths stories and articles about him go to gloss over the fact it likely contributed to his death.

I agree with your basic point. If there was more than one contributing factor to his death, I'd guess the non-alcohol factors wouldn't have led to the same result without being legally drunk. It's fine to say he might have been distracted by something else, but it's a reasonable assumption he could have overcome that distraction if he wasn't drunk. I'm a big Pre fan, I did a report in high school where I interviewed his parents, Bowerman, John Gillespie, etc.. Everyone agrees Pre's authenticity and direct approach to running/life was part of his appeal. There shouldn't be a need to be less than direct and upfront about the likely cause of his death.

On a side note, while the article glosses over his intoxication level, I think you're misreading the article to imply he only had one beer. "the beer he drank" can be read more than one way. "I feel sick because of the beer I drank last night."

No Waaaaay wrote:

In the 70's drinking and driving was viewed completely different than it is today. The fact that no one said anything to him while he was leaving the party would have been normal in 1975. HE WAS DRUNK. .16 is very telling.

Even if the BAC reading was off by a factor of 2, then Pre was at least a 0.08 which is still legally drunk by today's standard.

Part of the problem is people who can't read. I never said he wasn't drunk. I said that at the time it was questioned.

He was at a party, everyone was of legal drinking age. I'm sure he was drinking.

I tried to say that it is wrong for people to judge the way they do. People have branded him a loser and even said that he deserved to die. That's crazy.

It isn't ignorant to relate a story as you heard it. It is ignorant to say that it was a fact and that I'm ignoring it.

At the time we all figured he was drunk. It just didn't brand him a loser and nobody thought he deserved to die. What we got from him was a work ethic. He showed us how to work hard and run through pain. I don't remember anyone deciding to go out and get drunk because he did.

There is nothing wrong with Nike using his legacy to sell shoes and, hopefully, inspire people to work hard. I do wish they would include some of the current runners in their hype.

Halie?? wrote:

I don't know who Halie Geb is, either. I'm pretty sure no one here has heard of someone with that name.

It's pretty sad when your spelling/grammar troll is so weak you feel the need to emphasize the error in your reply.

This is a running forum. Move along, troll.

It doesn't have to be one extreme or the other. My guess is he wasn't hammered, but he wasn't completely sober either. In this case, whether or not being completely sober would have saved him will never be known. Nor does it really matter.

mcordi wrote:

Part of the problem is people who can't read. I never said he wasn't drunk. I said that at the time it was questioned.

He was at a party, everyone was of legal drinking age. I'm sure he was drinking.

I tried to say that it is wrong for people to judge the way they do. People have branded him a loser and even said that he deserved to die.

It's better than one alcoholic killed himself in a one car accident than for him to take someone else with him. The roads in Oregon are safer now with one less drunk off the roads.

Ah yes, your screen name says it all- you are a "loser baby".

Loser, baby wrote:

mcordi wrote:

Part of the problem is people who can't read. I never said he wasn't drunk. I said that at the time it was questioned.

He was at a party, everyone was of legal drinking age. I'm sure he was drinking.

I tried to say that it is wrong for people to judge the way they do. People have branded him a loser and even said that he deserved to die.

It's better than one alcoholic killed himself in a one car accident than for him to take someone else with him. The roads in Oregon are safer now with one less drunk off the roads.

One of the great mysteries to me, is that someone would be on this site (presumably a fan of running) and have heard the story of Prefontaine for what it really is and then try to disgrace Pre like this. Pre still owns the olympic trials record for 5,000 meters. A LOT of time has gone by. Shoes have improved, tracks have improved, nutrition has improved, knowledge has improved, athlete compensation has improved, the overal level of depth at the high end has improved in the U.S. Through all of this Pre has lost all of his American records from 2K-10K. But the guy who lived in a small trailor home in a trailor park on food stamps and worked at a bar part time to pay bills STILL ran faster at any Olympic trials for 5,000 meters than anyone in U.S. Olympic history.

I was not even alive when Pre died, but I have enough sense and empathy to realize the magnitude of his achievements, attitude and persona on and off the track. I also know that this will never be duplicated or matched in my lifetime with American distance running.

It is sad and disturbing that some slug could utter such an ugly statement as the above poster. There will be a day (perhaps many and perhaps there already have been) when you make a decision that turns out to be wrong. I hope you have the sense to then call yourself a hypocrite. The good news for you as a nobody, is that you won't likely come on here and have feces slung at you by anonymous cowards.

I have a few questions?

One, this article makes it seem like this particular corner is so dangerest that anyone could be killed, injuried, or have a serious wreck were "Pre" was killed. If so, how many other people have wrecked or been killed at this corner? The author makes if seem like this is one of the most dangerest corners of all time.

So, is it?

Are there any records of car accidents there?

God Bless "Pre" but please don't place the blame where it don't belong!

Holy shit, I hope English is your 3rd language.

Ok now we are suggesting that drinking and driving is a perfectly acceptable thing to do?

Any amount of alcohol affects the way you perform physical actions, ever try to right email drunk? Whatever the cause of that crash alcohol was obviously a factor, sure people can drive drunk and not hit anything and sleep it off once they get home, but to suggest that being legally drunk is not a large contributing factor is insane.

I hope you don't put your theories to the test anytime soon. All your able to argue here is that allot of people get away with doing very stupid things and never pay any consequences for it, which is obviously true, but a lot of people have cleaned their guns with the trigger guard off and the barrel pointed at their face with no consequence. But not even the NRA would suggest that those actions had no bearing on Billy blowing his brains out.

All I am saying is that if you think that drinking wasn’t a factor in that accident than your love of Prefontaine is blinding you to certain physical realities of human existence.

While the post you are replying to was a bit harsh, you seem to be in lala land. He was drunk and at the wheel. We are fortunate that he was the only one that died. I would feel a lot worse if some random person walking a dog was killed even if Pre didn't die. I love this sport but am amazed that his athletic accomplishments are even a factor in your opinion. While it is true that everyone makes mistakes - his was a very bad one which could have had a far worse outcome.

Pre was 24 years old when he died.

He was young and wreckless and lost his life.

It happens too often.

Some youngsters can see Pre wasn't just hype. NFL coach George Seifert said of Pre, "Watching him run was a unique feeling I've never experienced anywhere else in sports. It was an electric feeling - the screaming and hysteria was like this big old envelope that engulfed all of us. It was so emotional I'd have tears in my eyes. It was a great natural high that you don't forget and you can't duplicate chemically."

This pretty much explains it. Enough said. I'm waiting for someone like this to come along again.

mcordi wrote:

Some youngsters can see Pre wasn't just hype. NFL coach George Seifert said of Pre, "Watching him run was a unique feeling I've never experienced anywhere else in sports. It was an electric feeling - the screaming and hysteria was like this big old envelope that engulfed all of us. It was so emotional I'd have tears in my eyes. It was a great natural high that you don't forget and you can't duplicate chemically."

This pretty much explains it. Enough said. I'm waiting for someone like this to come along again.

I agree with you and Coach Seifert. However, Nike has since ruined it for me. They have turned a wonderful celebration of life into a dirty memory. It no longer has the warm fuzzy feeling. It now has the feel of dirty corporate greed.

ahh, yes, righting email when your drunkthe irony of this post is amusing

runner_pucci wrote:

Any amount of alcohol affects the way you perform physical actions, ever try to right email drunk?

All your able to argue here is that allot of people get away with doing very stupid things and never pay any consequences for it, which is obviously true, but a lot of people have cleaned their guns with the trigger guard off and the barrel pointed at their face with no consequence.

You have a point. But, I try to make it positive- I like how the memory is alive and the spirit of running is much like it was in the 70's.