Late one night in 1975, a victorious runner returning from a celebration met an untimely end at 24 years old. After discovering a blood alcohol content of 0.16, investigators determined drunk driving was most likely the cause of the accident.
Nearly 50 years later, Steve Prefontaine’s running legacy continues to leave a lasting impact on the Eugene community.
Pre’s Rock lies on a turn in Skyline Boulevard, to commemorate the place where Prefontaine died. Now, Pre’s Rock has become a memorial site where runners from all over the world flock to and leave their own running memorabilia behind with the memory of Prefontaine. The tradition started when people began leaving their personal items at the rock immediately following his death, and in 1997, the city of Eugene established a plaque to honor his legacy.
Prefontaine was a renowned runner for the University of Oregon between 1969-1974. He set a multitude of records in the 1500m and 10,000m that granted him his reputation as one of the best collegiate runners in the nation. He also competed in the 1972 Summer Olympics and was training for the 1976 Summer Olympics at the time of his death.
Tom Heinonen, a former UO Women’s Track and Field Coach beginning in 1975 and current UO Running Club coach, knew Prefontaine.
“It’s so public, and he’s such a huge personality. It sort of goes together in a way,” Heinonen said.
Heinonen’s colleague and former Oregon State University Women’s Track and Cross Country coach Kelly Sullivan spent the majority of his childhood in a town on the Oregon coast very similar to the Coos Bay, the town Prefontaine was raised in. Sullivan describes Prefontaine’s hometown as somewhere you are raised to become a “survivalist.”
As a kid, this was even more true for Prefontaine growing up.
He became so aggressive as a competitor because he found his voice through running. When he ran, people saw that he was somebody who wasn’t afraid of anything,” Sullivan said.
Prefontaine undoubtedly left a legacy in Eugene that has been inspiring runners for generations. Some question what could have been for Prefontaine, and what else he could’ve accomplished had he lived.
“You never got to see him in his life get old or fail at things, or just live a life like everybody else, with ups and downs,” Heinonen said.
The symbol of Pre’s rock helps to continually engrain the significance of Prefontaine’s early death as well as the wonder of what he could have achieved.
“The rock is very inspiring because you see all the people who have given up their marathon bibs or medals to honor Prefontaine,” University Oregon student and runner Kelsey Eiesland said.
Runners look to the rock for hopes of a fraction of the strength and conviction that Prefontaine ran with.
“(It’s) that place (that) helps to carry on that feeling, understanding and myth,” Heinonen said.
