What made Steve Prefontaine so great and different from everyone else?

He's been an advertising gold mine for Nike. Can't be a doper if you're dead.

crumpet wrote:

Ghost of Igloi wrote:

He died tragically.

This.

In our country, no one gave a poop about him.

But probably his moustache, and that you all were conservative and he was not.

I did watch him run in 1972 in Munich. Liked to race, but was out of his depth.

His key skill in the USA was he was white.

What a truly ignorant post.

I am not sure who you are (or, rather, who you think you are), nor do I know ovoindian; however, nothing in his post constituted any type of attack on the character or abilities of Steve Prefontaine. Having said that, I would think it is common for people to wonder what made Prefontaine who he was, and, furthermore, some would question his acclaim. Factually, there were faster runners out there, and some may not have cared for his attitude altogether. As someone who believes that Prefontaine was a very tough and talented athlete, I can still see their side. Now, I am directing my attention to you. Unless you are a direct relative, training partner, coach, affiliate, Hollister, Knight or Shorter, himself, there is no reason for such an inflammatory post for what was really a valid question. Got it? Just because you are regulars here or have friends does not mean you own the internet or Letsrun.com. Back to Prefontaine, I think he was the true example of the "blue collar runner" and I mean that positively. He was grindstone and grit and raw talent. As far as I know, in Coastal Oregon at the time, they did not have camps, workshops and advanced training labs, so Prefontaine had to work and work and work to be as good as he was, possibly harder than others. Generally, he got the results he needed, with a few exceptions.

lorax wrote:

My thoughts are your as dumb as someone who writes on reddit TIL there was someone called Prefontaine and he was a very well respected runner.

Please use google and the internet and do some research. After 10 years, a sub 13min 5k, a smoking hot wife, 2 kids then and only then can you bring up his name again.

sky wrote:

Pre didn't have that ideal long, lithe distance runner build (Dave Coleman called him the "chunky American) but he was a tenacious runner.

I would have loved to see him go against Viren and the rest in Montreal. Pre was really determined to reverse the Munich results.

My guess is that he would have been disappointed again, but who knows?

Endlessly debated but.....

Montreal 5k Pre would not have factored. Far deeper race than Munich full of kickers.

Montreal 10k no-one was beating Viren. Lopez was as much or more gutsier than Pre so, despite no porn stache, he would still have got silver. I give bronze to Pre. Of course, the race was weak in depth, and if Foster had not got the stomach bug he would have bronzed, maybe silvered.

Foster did bronze. I meant he would have beaten Pre for bronze.

Of course if you add a few more wouldas you need to imagine all the Africans being there as well.

The question is why everyone thinks Pre was 'gutsy'. What does that even mean? There were (and always have been) numerous non-prima- donna runners who worked hard and ground their teeth and went for it.

Perhaps gutsy means 'No kick'. Or 'Not enough talent to make it look easy'.

Ghost of Igloi wrote:

He died tragically.

Getting drunk and driving into a rock is not a tragedy.

He died, and his story has been marketed very aggressively for decades. That’s what makes him “great” as compared to lesser known runners who accomplished more than he did.

He was gutsy because he was not afraid to run from the front. He did not hide behind other runners for "sit and kick."

It was a combination of things that made him stand out. As far as why he was and is do well known, it's a combination of his racing style (no sitting and kicking), his polarising personality and his high school and collegiate achievements (many ARs as well). He wasn't the best in the world when he was alive, but the allure of the thought that he hadn't yet reached his full potential due to his unfortunate death, mixed in with the other aspects that I mentioned above, are what made him so well known and remembered

First and foremost...superb genetics! Secondly, mental toughness and a killer training attitude. Got to have both to be a top elite...no surprises there.

Luv2Run wrote:

You should read "Pre" and see Fire on the Track.

Pre had physical talent for sure (including a big VO2max), he had tenacity and a high tolerance for pain (in the effort sense, no idea about actual pain) and put in the work. That is a pretty good combination for success.

I'd say winning the NCAA 3 mile title after badly slicing his foot the night before shows he could bear a huge amount of pain.

He had a stocky build because he had a huge set of lungs. He also had a large, strong heart. Those two things were prerequisites for his huge VO2 max.

The Way We Were wrote:

He was gutsy because he was not afraid to run from the front. He did not hide behind other runners for "sit and kick."

Let’s run is the only place where you’ll see pre critized for front running and fourth, but at the same time critiquing Rupp for sitting and kicking from a few miles out in a road race and winning medals lol

Qweru said: That’s what makes him “great” as compared to lesser known runners who accomplished more than he did.

I would be very interested to see your list of lesser-known runners who accomplished more than he did.

in four years of college, he never lost a race at Hayward Field.

at the time of his death, 30th May 1975, he held every American outdoor track record from 2,000m to 10,000m, that's seven American Records at different distances, as follows: 2,000m 5:01.4 9th May 1975, 3,000m 7:42.6 2nd July 1974, 2 miles 8:18.3 18th July 1974, 3 miles 12:51.4 8th June 1974, 5,000m 13:21.9 26th June 1974, 6 miles 26:51.4 27th April 1974, 10,000m 27:43.6 27th April 1974.

your list should make extremely interesting reading.

cheers.

Cottonshirt wrote:

Qweru said: That’s what makes him “great” as compared to lesser known runners who accomplished more than he did.

I would be very interested to see your list of lesser-known runners who accomplished more than he did.

in four years of college, he never lost a race at Hayward Field.

at the time of his death, 30th May 1975, he held every American outdoor track record from 2,000m to 10,000m, that's seven American Records at different distances, as follows: 2,000m 5:01.4 9th May 1975, 3,000m 7:42.6 2nd July 1974, 2 miles 8:18.3 18th July 1974, 3 miles 12:51.4 8th June 1974, 5,000m 13:21.9 26th June 1974, 6 miles 26:51.4 27th April 1974, 10,000m 27:43.6 27th April 1974.

your list should make extremely interesting reading.

cheers.

Among just Americans (both before and after him): guys like Schulz, Mills, Wottle, and Shorter who won gold medals; guys like Ryun, Salazar, Rodgers who had a real claim to being best in the world (which Pre never did). I’d even put a guy like Virgin in there as more impressive and accomplished. Maybe others I missed. Basically, people who were demonstrably a lot better than Pre on the world stage.

I'm terribly sorry to have wasted your time. I thought for a moment you were serious.

there isn't anywhere on planet Earth where Olympic champions and world record holders are considered, "lesser-known."

cheers.

Cottonshirt wrote:

I'm terribly sorry to have wasted your time. I thought for a moment you were serious.

there isn't anywhere on planet Earth where Olympic champions and world record holders are considered, "lesser-known."

cheers.

They are all absolutely “lesser known” than Pre among US running fans, which is the point of comparison here. As far as I’m concerned, this misunderstanding is all on you.

The single most factor that turned him into a legend was the fact he died young and so his full potential will never be known. We are left with a what if scenario, how would he have done in Montreal in 1976, would he still be a medal threat in Los Angeles in 1984?

As such he joins a long list of people whose untimely death adds to their mystique, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Duncan Edwards, James Dean, Keats, Shelley, Mozart. And probably the greatest what if of them all, Alexander the Great.