30Duck No. 1 Share Posted January 26, 2021 January 25 would have been Steve Prefontaine's 70th birthday. Two friends who first met each other in pre-school in Coos Bay have produced a documentary, "Pre's People". To read about it, this article is from dailyemerald.com Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haywarduck Moderator No. 2 Share Posted January 26, 2021 (edited) Pre lives! Edited January 26, 2021 by Haywarduck Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Fischer Administrator No. 3 Share Posted January 26, 2021 Great post and contribution 30Duck...thanks. Mr. FishDuck Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drake Moderator No. 4 Share Posted January 27, 2021 One of my favorite tee shirts. Have had two people offer to buy it from me....Grew up in the Coos Bay Area and remember watching Pre when he was at Marshfield. GO PRE 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haywarduck Moderator No. 5 Share Posted January 27, 2021 10 minutes ago, Drake said: One of my favorite tee shirts. Have had two people offer to buy it from me....Grew up in the Coos Bay Area and remember watching Pre when he was at Marshfield. GO PRE Name your price, make that three;)! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigDucksFan No. 6 Share Posted January 27, 2021 An all time favorite. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Santa Rosa Duck No. 7 Share Posted January 27, 2021 Linda Prefontaine (sister of) is not happy with this documentary. Don't ask me how I know. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Notalot No. 8 Share Posted January 27, 2021 I grew up between Eugene and Coos Bay. My mother graduated from Marshfield High. We heard of Pre in H.S. He was in the same dorm quad as me in 1969-70. I saw him run many times and it was always thrilling. I was driving to UO on Hwy 126 from Florence the day after his last meet near Whitaker Creek when I heard the news of Pre’s death over the radio. I shuddered in disbelief and was left stunned and empty. I remember the magic of his running and his will to win. R.I.P. “Pre” 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nogerO No. 9 Share Posted January 27, 2021 I first met Pre in the summer on the side of the highway 42 west of Roseburg. I post under nogerO because Steve wore an Oregon track singlet inside out to protest the AAU and the letters showed through it easily as nogerO. I was riding my motorcycle and saw a blue car at a pull off area with the hood and the trunk up. Beautiful robin's egg blue, same color as my bike. I rolled in and asked the guy if he needed any help and he said no he was just changing clothes and resting for a bit. I introduced myself and he said "Hi Steve, I'm Steve too, Steve Prefontaine. I knew who he was and was surprised that he was smaller than I thought he would be. I visited him for a bit and then got back on my bike and continued on to the coast. A couple of years later I was living in Springfield in an apartment complex and one day I looked down in the parking lot by the pool and saw the Blue Falcon parked there. While I was standing by the railing on the second floor I was surprised to see Pre come out of my neighboring apartment. There were a couple girls living there and he knew one of them. We went on down to the pool (summer again) and Steve had a six pack of beer and we drank it and visited for a while. He did a couple of laps in the smallish pool and said "this swimming stuff wears me out" with that grin of his. A few weeks later I saw Pre getting out of the MG in the parking lot and yelled hi to him and said why did you buy that? My roommate had the same model and was having all kinds of problems with it. He said that he just felt he needed a more sporty car. I scolded him for getting rid of the Futura and we joked a bit about it. He said he was running in an event in North Carolina and it would be on Wide World of Sports. Back then they would film stuff during the week and show it on the weekend. He said when he got back he would give me a call and pick up a few beers and he would give me the "play by play" of the race. My brother was there and we were both amazed at all that went on in the race. Things that the layman would never notice, he pointed out. He got me to come over to Hayward field and compete in a javelin contest in one of the all-comers meets they held there. Met some of his friends, Mac and others. Great people. When I heard he passed I was in California and my first thought was- that damn MG! So tragic that a man with a heart and lungs like he had died of suffocation. To this day I have never been to that crash site. Just can't bring myself to do it. Interesting story about Pre that doesn't get much attention. He was a bit of an entrepeneur and always had something he wanted me to invest in. I remember one time he was talking about his family was thinking about buying Mazzi's Restaurant. There was always something. One time he said hey! I have something you need to get in on. What this time?, was my reply. Well me and some friends are going to buy BRS West and Bill (Bowerman) is going to design shoes. I'm going to test them and Phil (yes that Phil) is going to be the numbers guy. I said yeah, sure or something like that. A bit later Steve came by to say he was going to wear a pair of the shoes in a race that weekend and would I like to come watch him in the new shoes. Remember the waffle soles? Well long story short, one fell apart on the first lap I believe and the other was coming apart when he kicked it off. After the race I told him that I was going to pass on investing in his new company. Ground floor-Nike. I still have nightmares about that to this day. Hoping the wind is still blowing through your hair Steve, rest in peace. "To give anything less than your best, is to sacrifice the gift"- Steve Prefontaine 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
30Duck Author No. 10 Share Posted January 27, 2021 7 minutes ago, NogerO said: the letters showed through it easily as nogerO. That is so cool, and an amazing story. Thanks so much for sharing it with us! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Fischer Administrator No. 11 Share Posted January 28, 2021 Wow, what a small world we live in and don't know it until people share incredible stories in their lives like this. NOW the nogerO makes sense! That is a very cool Posting Name (handle) now that we know the story behind it. Mr. FishDuck Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nogerO No. 12 Share Posted January 28, 2021 9 minutes ago, Charles Fischer said: Wow, what a small world we live in and don't know it until people share incredible stories in their lives like this. NOW the nogerO makes sense! That is a very cool Posting Name (handle) now that we know the story behind it. A bit more meaning to it than somebody just spelling Oregon backwards. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
