Post-Pre

Steve Prefontaine is considered to be one of the most influential people in the history of track and one of the greatest runners of all time. He set numerous records, and was known for giving it his all and never quitting. This 3 minute video does a great job summarizing his feats and fantastic quotes. And Prefontaine, or Pre as he was called, achieved this place in history even though he was killed in a car accident at the young age of 24.
When I was 14 years old, I decided to follow my friends into the realm of high school cross country. This consisted of long lake runs, power line runs, never-ending sprints, and stressful 5k meets. I wish I could say that my inspiration was Pre. I wish I could say that I ran until I puked my guts out like Pre would have. In my very first practice, I hitched a ride. Unfortunately, I had never heard of Pre then. Through those four years I was one of the slowest on my team. But after that first ride, I never quit in the middle of a run again. The shoes I ran in were basic running shoes that my parents bought for me from Payless Shoe Source. A gray pair lasted me my first two years, and a black pair lasted me my last two years. We couldn't afford the fancy, colorful, top of the line shoes that some of my competitors were running in. By the end of my senior season my second pair of shoes were dirty, full of burrs, and split open from the heel to the mid-foot. After running for four years and not earning one single medal, I hung those shoes from a shelf in my bedroom as my own kind of trophy, and a sense of accomplishment. I think I finally threw them out some years later, and now I wish I hadn't. Recently, more than 20 years later, I stumbled across Nike's rebirth of of their running shoes from the 1970's. (Here's a fun retro ad campaign by Nike.) The looks of these shoes transported me to before my time, and I wanted to have a piece of my running past back. By the time I had discovered them online, most were gone. The only ones left in my size, anywhere on the web, were a pair of bright blue and red Nike Zoom Hayward III's. Honestly, they weren't my first choice, I liked the throw-back waffle shoes better, but what could I do? I had to have them. The Hayward III's were presumably modeled after Steve Prefontaine's blueprint of the perfect running shoe, and Hayward was his hometown track he ran on. I like to run in a few charity races every year, but have not been in one since I got these. However, I did wear them on the Great Rivers Century bike ride. I was one of the few who stood out not by a brightly colored biking shirt, but instead by my new Hayward's. (You can read more about my bike ride with my brother here.) This is us looking a little disheveled at mile 40. I guess what I found was this: The shoes didn't change me. I'm still the same guy who plugs along at a slow pace but eventually finishes. But did they give me a little inspiration and drive mixed in with my effort? You betcha. If only I could go back to high school cross country, to maybe at least hurl on the trails once. Pre, I wish I had known you.