New Year’s Resolutions Blog

PRE! The love of my life…

Wednesday, January 17th, 2007

Oh man! This cool blog post about Steve Prefontaine has totally made my day. I was moping around and whining to myself about feeling sick (I only did a half day at work today) when I ran across the post. It’s convinced me to suck it up and at least go for a short run today (hey, The New York Times said it’s okay to run when you don’t feel 100% — it must be true!). I do feel better than I did last night. But this post is supposed to be about Pre!

Growing up in the Pacific Northwest, Steve was definitely one of my idols. I’ve made the trek to the Pre Classic several times, both to be near where Pre ran and also to see Pre’s Rock and run on Pre’s Trail. They were wonderful experiences, really motivational. It feels great to be in an environment that’s closely related to a really great runner. The notable thing about Pre is that he was not a phenomenally naturally talented runner. He got to where he did in his running career based more on guts than gifts. He had great coaches and support, of course, but a huge portion of his accomplishments came from sheer determination. Pre’s achievements really demonstrate how far you can get by just not accepting losing as an option.

A few of Pre’s most famous quotes (printed on running t-shirts and motivational posters worldwide! ;)) include the following:

A lot of people run a race to see who is fastest. I run to see who has the most guts, who can punish himself into exhausting pace, and then at the end, punish himself even more. Nobody is going to win a 5,000 meter race after running an easy 2 miles. Not with me. If I lose forcing the pace all the way, well, at least I can live with myself.

To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift.

I don’t just go out there and run. I like to give people watching something exciting.

Somebody may beat me, but they are going to have to bleed to do it.

I’m going to work so that it’s a pure guts race at the end, and if it is, I am the only one who can win it.

How does a kid from Coos Bay, with one leg longer than the other win races? All my life people have been telling me, “You’re too small, Pre,” “You’re not fast enough Pre,” “Give up your foolish dream, Steve.” But they forgot something. I have to win.

A race is a work of art that people can look at and be affected in as many ways theyâ€™re capable of understanding.

Some people create with words or with music or with a brush and paints. I like to make something beautiful when I run. I like to make people stop and say, “I’ve never seen anyone run like that before.” It’s more than just a race, it’s a style. It’s doing something better than anyone else. It’s being creative.

Something inside of me just said “Hey, wait a minute, I want to beat him,” and I just took off.

Those quotes are so inspirational to me, I’m doing a little Pre dance right now! I feel absolutely ridiculous for not having focused on Pre as an inspiration in the process of beginning my marathon training. I’m glad I’ve been reminded of him, though, and I will definitely be keeping him in mind for the duration of my training. And I’ve actually never participated in the Prefontaine Memorial Run, so I think I’ll make that one of my goals for this year as well. A 10K will feel positively miniscule compared with the marathon!

Wow, I really really can’t explain how great I feel about finally getting back in touch with my love for Pre and how much I think this is going to help me in my marathon training. I’m going to have to watch one of the Pre movies every week! Those not familiar with his story should definitely check out any information about him you can get your hands on, from the Wikipedia article to various movies and books (Fire on the Track, Without Limits, Prefontaine, Pre).

Time to get out there and run! I know I’ll never be the next Pre, but I feel an obligation to help run some of the miles that he never got to run because of his untimely death. Pre, this run is for you! And the next one, and the next one, and the marathon too!

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