A Tribute to Steve Prefontaine

[mrcardio9r]

My best mile in high school was 4:44 in the 10th grade (didn't run 11/12th) but at 28 years old ran a 4:34 with far less training when I ran 4:44 in HS. I'm currently 32 and continue to improve so I know 24 is NOT a peak age for most.

Testosterone generally doesn't start to drop until 35-40 so don't believe that 24 crap..

[mrcardio9r]

To say the peak age for a males physical fitness is 24 is just WRONG period. For one, a persons "peak" varies from person to person but generally speaking physical fitness doesn't start to decline until 35-39. Pre was just 24 when he died. Pre could have won 76' 80' 84'. He was just beginning to get his stride when he died. 24 is YOUNG

[25ruler25]

"What I do for fun. You do for punishment." -Pre

[guitarboy2014]

pre was the greatest runner ever...................he makes me run harder i think bought him befor every meet and it makes me run harder hes me hero PRE will always live on in our hearts and minds

[jonyb0b13]

song name?....Pre was truly a amazing runner maybe not the best but his determination and attitude is what makes him amazing runner....truly sad he had to go so soon R.I.P. Pre

[saxgirl12331]

@jonyb0b13 Last Man Standing...Stop Pre

[Sichotic]

... This is one of my fav vids.. the song just suits it so much! The way it carries itself... Pushin all the way through all pain!

[chiefshakenbake]

think about him when you are pushing your all when there isnt anything left, steve didnt slow down.

[rugermkiii]

I'll be thinking of him when I hit the wall in my race today...

[Sichotic]

Its not cuz he was the greatest distance runn of all time! He is however a man who electrifies the world who runs... He was the type to jus run as hard as he could either know he had nothing left! That takes heart and this is why we admire u pre... Pre lives on through all of us! Thats why there is not other pre! Cuz there is only 1 of a person... all we can do is take what he does and try nd improve it!!! That way were the next of ourselves!

[YiftertheShifter1]

Look, Pre is not the greatest runner of all time. He simply doesn't have the credentials. He earned no olympic medals, set no world records, and was beaten many, many times in athletic competitions. You admire his personality and style, not his achievements, which do not amount to the big names of distance running.

[eKriZZLe]

you're still being a fucking tool i see. he set many American records...ran a gutsy race in his first ever Olympics, would have for sure grabbed a medal in the next Olympics had he not been killed. he was young...there was still plenty left in his tank. but you just like flaming your useless dribble to get a response...so i will continue to oblige. PRE LIVES

[YiftertheShifter1]

Setting American records doesn't cut it. Being the best or the fastest in one country doesn't make you the best in the world, and to my knowledge, Pre never defeated a world class field outside the United States. His first race was gutsy, but the field in Montreal was much tougher, the first four/ five within 1-1.5 seconds of Viren (in Munich, Pre lost 2 seconds, 14 meters, all in the final 120 meters, and 17 meters in the last 200 when considering he was ahead of Viren at that stage).

[YiftertheShifter1]

Oh, but my "useless dribble" is the truth, and you know it. That's why you've reviled me everywhere. Like everyone else who's done like you, I challenge you to show any of my statements to be incorrect. It's a tall order for a dumb, annoying little maggot like you, but if you had a brain in that shameful head of yours... think about it.

[Thurston2011]

Okay, sorry again. but your still being an idiot. and you all refuse to see the whole point of why pre is inspiring! read a book or something, anything besides hear say, before you go around saying what he DIDN'T do. and i could care less if you like pre or not but before you make that call, atleast understand him. so far, you know nothing. big whup you know his times and such. But you don't understand the MAN himself. last thing, Pre could of beaten Viren in Montreal. im not going into that tho

[YiftertheShifter1]

Ah, but you sidestep the very question that is the reason I come back time and again: how could Pre have beaten Viren? Nobody has a legitimate answer to this question, I doubt you do, because your entire post was full of false accusations and BS: don't presume to know my intentions. I have no grudge against Prefontaine or any athlete, but I simply think that people like you exaggerate his accomplishments and his status in athletics.

[Thurston2011]

Pre was younger then Viren and still wasn't in his prime running years. The times he raced Viren, Pre's peak of the season was come and past and Viren was in his peak. Cuz there seasons were different months. Also in 1972 olympics the race didn't unfold like it should. Viren had the uper hand to it cuz Pre was a front runner, which no one else was brave enough. try front running. its way easyer to sit back and kick later. which is what he refuse to do. Im not exaggerating. YOU ARE missing it.

[YiftertheShifter1]

Checking on some major athletes and their peak age:

Seb Coe: 24 (his 1981 season)

El Guerrouj: 23-24 (his 1500/mile WRs)

Bekele: 22-23 (his 5/10K WRs)

Viren: 23 (his 5/10K WR/OR double, 2mi WR)

Geb: 23-24 (final WRs/PBs @ 5/10K/ 2mi)

Kipketer: 24 (5 WRs over 800m i/o)

Shorter: 24 (his marathon gold medal)

Wottle: 22/23 (his 800m gold medal)

And so on. You get that athletes peak at 22-24, most likely at 24 (barring injury).

[YiftertheShifter1]

So, looking at the stats, Pre's peak season should've been 1973-1975, however his PB over his specialty distance, the 5K, dropped 1 second between 1972 and 1974. And the whole "peak of the season" point is null and void: Pre was post-collegiate in '74, he could've chosen to focus on international races, but that same year he lost to Viren again (and Anders Garderud, future stplchse champion).

[Thurston2011]

R u even a athlete? peak of the SEASON means the season not the year(s). yes everyone knows your, your best at 24. But he didn't peak in the year at the same as the euros did. yes pre wasn't the "best" but you still miss the point (which is why im annoyed with your ludicrousness)

[YiftertheShifter1]

Well, that was all rebuttal to the whole "Pre was too young," because he was hardly more fit in '72 when he was 21 than he was 23-24, which is peak age.

And it seems you didn't read my comment thoroughly: Pre was post-collegiate in 1974: if he had wanted to, he could've peaked in a different part of the year as his meets weren't as controlled. If Pre chose to peak at a different part of the year, then don't complain when he'll lose in another part.

[YiftertheShifter1]

Races aren't supposed to "develop" as they should. Pre and his coach expected something, but hardly anything goes "according to plan." The runners need to respond to changes in pace, tactics in accordance with a fast or slow race, or a mix of both. They expected that Bedford would take up the lead for much of the race (contradicting your point that Pre was the only one brave enough), but didn't anticipate how tired he'd be physically and mentally after frontrunning much of the 10000m.

[Thurston2011]

thats not what they expected...ur google search was wrong. sorry. his name was bill bowerman..idiot. and he didn't lead from the begining like he wanted but he got boxed.

[YiftertheShifter1]

Well, guess what? Viren didn't really want to fall down in the middle of his 10000m. He still got up and won the race. Quit making excuses: international athletes like Pre are supposed to respond to favorable and unfavorable situations in races... and Pre had plenty of room to move up and set the pace had he wanted to in the first two miles; races hardly ever fall under expectation, that's why you've got to plan for different scenarios.

[YiftertheShifter1]

Viren was given the upper hand by Pre's change of pace. You see, Viren is favored in a fast race, like the Munich 10000m, the Montreal 10000m (second half in 13:31, unprecedented at the time). Pre faciliated Viren's win by making it faster, because Viren had the ability to kick off a fast pace. And even if Pre didn't take it up, Viren would've gone from 2-3 laps out (watch the Montreal 5000m: best frontrunning victory I've ever seen).

[YiftertheShifter1]

Pre didn't "refuse" to sit and kick. He knew that his best chance to win a race is from the front, because he didn't have the best finishing speed. That's what many frontrunners without the best finishing speed do, though, like Pre, most have not been successful at winning that way. To my memory only Viren, Ngugi, and Bekele have won an Olympic title by staying at the front the last 2-3 laps.

[Thurston2011]

pre had always ran infront, he had no experience in kicking.

[YiftertheShifter1]

Oh I'm sure there must have been races where he had to use of basic speed to win. And if he had no experience in kicking, then that reinforces my point as to why he definitely would not have won in Montreal: the 5000m has been decided at nearly every world championship/ Olympics by finishing kicks; need I run through the list? Only a few of them didn't (though the lesser medals were decided as such). So, once again, explain to me how Pre would've beaten Viren in Montreal.

[chiefshakenbake]

very nice, and well informed

[rickyandjordan4]

He was the fucking man!!!! He is the one who is making me run harder than ever!