Remembering Pre

Today marks the 35th death anniversary of Steve Roland Prefontaine, an American long and middle distance runner, who is one of the inspirations of the running boom in the 1970's.

I first learned about Pre through a movie a saw in HBO, and I didn't bother to finish it, as I was not loving the sport (I was close to 200 lbs then).

When the running bug bit me, I was able to get a copy of movies about the sport from running buddy Neil, and 2 were about this man: "Prefontaine" (1997) and "Without Limits" (1998).

I was born 2 years after his death. Yet, the stories about this man inspired me. His passion moved me to improve and excel. The inspiration and motivation lingers whenever I ran a 5k or 10k, like a child thinking and mimicking his idol.

Pre, thank you for teaching us a lesson about passion. Thank you for showing us how to run our hearts. Thank you for speaking what's running in your mind. You will always be remembered every time I sign up for a race, I lace up my shoes, and hit the road.









Image sources:
1. http://www.uwec.edu/evansmm/Gmas/2009Pics/StevePrefontaine.jpg
2. https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpg8E_6oLh0rgsaenCkJewF1jGviBnE-0rSNsDKE2nK4RQZVQgT0Nlw64rYqqQI8LF-UVQMXKQUtPCdJRZRGRIP059TwCreqoOJY1pYrYg3eBveC5R45raG0ZvbP7VTfnBC3zMVxUsCTdJ/s400/steve-prefontaine-poster-olympic.jpg
3. http://blogs.scripps.com/abil/mayo/Steve-Prefontaine-Poster.jpg
4. http://www.justrunners.com/Steve%20Prefontaine%20Cross%20Country%20Running%20Poster.jpg
5. http://www.justrunners.com/Running-%20Poster-%20Steve-%20Prefontaine-%20Oregon.jpg
6. http://www.uwec.edu/evansmm/Gmas/2009Pics/PREFONTAINE.jpg
7. http://www2.localaccess.com/rlalonde/Pre/pre%27srock.jpg