Early in the morning of May 30, 1975, hours after winning a 5K race against Olympic gold medalist Frank Shorter, legendary Oregon distance runner Steve Prefontaine rolled his car on a narrow, winding street near Eugene’s Hendricks Park. He was pinned underneath his vehicle and was pronounced dead at the scene.
At age 24, the Coos Bay native—often called simply "Pre"—was already a hero. Not only was he a gutsy athlete who held every American record from two kilometers to 10, he also volunteered at an Oregon prison, fought to change the amateur athletics standards of the day, and worked to restore Hayward Field’s condemned, wooden west grandstands.
Days after Prefontaine’s death, his former head coach at the University of Oregon, Bill Bowerman, sat down at a typewriter and wrote a memo that would have lasting impact on Eugene’s track scene. It reads, in part:
"Our Oregon Track Club board met last Sunday. We concur in living memorials to Pre, his dreams, his inspiration, his ambition—that the meet he did so much to make successful, should bear his name.”
With those words, Bowerman changed what would have been the Bowerman Classic to the Prefontaine Classic, a name it bears to this day.
The typed message is housed at the University of Oregon archives. Athletics Archivist Lauren Goss works with students, researchers, museums, and community members, and said many people continue to feel Pre’s spirit and drive.
“I think he still remains an inspiration to so many people who come to Eugene," she said. "Especially that synergy and reciprocity between him and his fans, that was so evident in those meets. I think that that aura still exists, and people still really want to tap into that energy.”
Stop Pre
One fan helped start a movement during the 1972 Olympic Trials, which were held in Eugene.
Thurston High School Track & Field coach John Gillespie had season tickets to all of the track meets at Hayward Field.
“What was really big back then was ‘Go Pre,’ he said. "There were thousands of Go Pre shirts all over the place. So, watching the Olympic trials, I’m up in the top of Hayward Field and this idea of a stop sign came to me.”
Gillespie’s brother was an art major, and they made about a dozen shirts in their mother’s basement. A group of friends and track and field writers wore the “Stop Pre” shirts under their coats, and after Pre won the 5K, securing his spot in the Munich Olympics, they revealed their bold, stop-sign-emblazoned shirts.
“After the race, I went down to trackside" Gillespie told KLCC. "I’d taken my shirt off and I handed the one that I’d been wearing to Pre. And then afterwards he’s interviewed and sees me and says ‘Could I get some more of those to take to Europe?’ and so we made some more for him, and that’s essentially how it started.”
Gillespie said at first, not everyone understood the backwards humor. More than a half-century later, he said, “Stop Pre” shirts are still a favorite of track fans.
A pilgrimage for athletes and fans
Andy Vobora with Travel Lane County said people who come to Eugene for running events often like to visit places associated with Prefontaine. He said there’s a page on their website dedicated to a sort of "Pre-itinerary," including instructions on how to find “Pre’s Rock,” the site of his fatal crash, which draws fans to this day.
Vobora said Pre’s charisma on and off the track connects with each new generation.
“I think for a lot of the young athletes, it’s just his approach to how he worked and raced, and that was very unique and bold and it served him very well," said Vobora. "So I think there’s kind of something for everybody in thinking about Steve Prefontaine.”
Prefontaine died while he was training for the 1976 Olympics. Part of the allure of his story is that no one knows where his life would have taken him, from world records to Olympic medals, to advocating for various running-related causes.
Gillespie said when Pre entered the stadium, it always felt like the sun had just come out.
“There are not a lot of things that you can absolutely trust in this world," he said, pausing for emphasis. "But one of the things you could trust back then was that Pre would give you 100%.”
Decades after Steve Prefontaine’s death, Eugene routinely hosts high-profile track and field events, including the U.S. Olympic Trials and even the World Athletics Championships in 2022.
On this summer’s schedule: The 50th Prefontaine Classic on July 5.
