Steve Prefontaine Quotes

You will find Steve Prefontaine ,times, quotes, pictures and other other info that made him the legend he is. Some of the Prefontaine pictures below will be made into future posters. I have 2 additional posters they are Steve Prefontaine Poster Oregon and Steve Prefontaine Poster Olympic 2.

Photo by Jeff Johnson

Steve Prefontaine quotes

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, its being creative." Pre

"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." -Pre

"To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the Gift" -Pre

" Most people run a race to see who is fastest. I run a race to see who has the most guts." -Pre

" A race is a work of art that people can look at and be affected in as many ways they're understanding." -Pre

"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." -Pre

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

"Something inside of me just said 'Hey, wait a minute, I want to beat him.' and I just took off." -Pre

"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 dream Steve'. But they forgot something, I have to win!."-Pre

"You have to wonder at times what you're doing out there. Over the years, I've given myself a thousand reasons to keep running, but it always comes back to where it started. It comes down to self-satisfaction and a sense of achievement." -Pre

Steve Prefontaine was born Coo's Bay Oregon in 1951. He attended Marshfield High School. Here, he developed his hunger to be the best in the field, and more, to do it with style to create beauty when he ran, to show people something they had never seen before. Below is Steve Prefontaine's times his Senior year in 1969.

3/29	Indn Clb Re	Roseburg	DisMedR	4:12.6r	1st
4/5	v Gr Pass	Coos Bay	Mile	4:11.1	1st
			2M	9:13.4	1st
4/11	v s Eugene	Coos Bay	Mile	4:19.0	1st
			880	1:54.3	1st
4/18	v Roseburg	Coos Bay	Mile	4:21.1	1st
			880	1:57.7	1st
4/25	Corvallis Inv	Corvallis	2M	8:41.5	1st
5/2	v Springfield	Springfield	440	53.5	1st
5/9	Coos Cnty	Coos Bay	Mile	4:06.9	1st
5/16	v N Bend	N Bend	Mile	4:22.4	1st
5/23	District	Springfield	Mile	4:07.4	1st
			2M	9:14.3	1st
5/30	State	Corvallis	Mile	4:08.4	1st
			2M	9:03.0	1st
6/14	Golden West	Sacramento	Mile	4:06.0	1st
6/29	AAU	Miami	3M	13:43.0	4th
7/12	Hawaii Inv	Honolulu	2M	8:48.8	2nd
7/19	US v SU	Los Angeles	5000	14:40.0	5th
7/31	US v Eur	Stutgart	5000	13:52.8	3rd
8/5	US v WG	Augsburg	5000	14:07.4	2nd
8/13	US v GB	London	5000	14:38.4	4th

Photo by Oregon Journal

Steve Prefontaine warms down after his prep two-mile of 8:41.

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