Thanks Pre

The roads up to Pre's Rock look as if they have remained unchanged from when the legendary American distance star died 33 years ago.

The narrow, cracked concrete streets that carried me and my bicycle up the hill looked as if time, and a Eugene roads maintenance team, had forgot them. Maybe that's intentional. Maybe residents along Birch and Skyline Blvd. would like the area to be their little secret.

In some ways it is. Had it not been for signs that the Eugene 08 Committee placed from Hayward Field to Pre's Rock, I might not have found it. There are no permanent signs leading to the monument until you get to the base of Birch, and those look like they may have been erected recently.

While it is not well marked, Pre's Rock is easily found by those (including myself) who wish to pay homage to the man whose spirit still lingers like coastal clouds over Eugene during track season.

WHO IS PRE? For those not in the know about track, Steve Prefontaine is still considered to be the best distance runner the U.S. has ever produced. After growing up in Coos Bay, "Pre" attended the University of Oregon, where he ran under legendary coach Bill Bowerman. While at Oregon, Pre won three straight NCAA cross country titles and three NCAA three-mile titles. At the time of his death on May 30, 1975, Pre owned American records in every event from 2,000 meters to 10,000 meters.

Pre is referred to be some as the "James Dean of American Track," primarily because of his stance against the Amateur Athletic Union, the body that then governed track and field. Pre said the things that many athletes were afraid to say because of the fear of retrobution by the AAU: that amateur athetes should be allowed to receive payment for appearances in track meets. Such payment, in the AAU's eyes, would take away one's amateur status and thus the chance to represent the nation in international competitions, such as the Olmypics.

Right at the height of his career, Pre's life was taken away. On the night of May 11, 1975, Pre was involved in a one-car accident on Skyline Blvd., coming home from a party. He swerved his MG convertible (for unknown reason) into a rock wall. The car flipped and pinned him. The cause of the accident has never been determined, but there are many theories. Some say a second car that sped from the scene was involved, while others blame drunk-driving by Pre.

WHAT ONCE WAS A SIMPLE ROCK with "Pre 5-30-75 RIP" enscribed with white paint on the rock wall has now become a shrine. In 1997, the City of Euegen dedicated a memorial on the site, featuring a photo of Pre and an inscription. Runners have left many alms at the altar of Prefontaine. My trip this morning found a number of t-shirts, bib and hip numbers, shoes, flowers and momentos from the Trials. It also includes a number of finishers medals, including one someone had left from the 100th Boston Marathon.

I left nothing, instead just marveling in being in the presence of Pre and thinking about the millions of runners who have been inspired by him. I am sure may have thought about Pre in the last few days. What would he think of a track production so driven be sponsorship, like these Trials are? Would he smile on the contracts and sponsorships that runners receive now, allowing them to carry on that Olympic dream? Would he frown on what has been described as the recent decay of American distance running? Or doping? Or China's human rights record?

One would have to think that he and Bill Bowerman are sitting up in Heaven, sharing a cold one and marveling at what had created. Without Bowerman and Pre, its highly likely that none of this would exist. Eugene might not still be Track Town. Its main contributor, Nike, certainly wouldn't be around. I wouldn't have the chance to come to Eugene and watch the world's best step on the stage that has become Historic Hayward Field.

Thanks Pre.