Considering the late Steve Prefontaine

The last race of Steve Prefontaine, 29 May 1975, photo from Pinterest

Steve Prefontaine died on 30 May 1975, the night after running one of his fastest 5000m. As a junior in high school in 1975, I recall the announcement on the TV news that night. I had a sick feeling in my stomach. Prefontaine was a rock star, and his races were seen on TV on many occassions.

This Day in Track & Field-December 2, Frank Shorter wins Fukuoka Marathon for third time (1973), Born this Day: Mike Larrabee, two-time 1964 Olympic gold medalist (400m, 4x400m), written by Walt Murphy

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The Brooks Run Guide, A Brooks Coaching Newsletter, Back Issues (#1-#9), Fall/Winter 2025

Peter John L. Thompson provided us with the Eulogy read by Kenny Moore, a 1968 and 1972 Olympian, as well as long time writer in Sports Illustrated, which was given on 3 June 1975. In the 1980 Olympic Trials program, the Eulogy and photo by Brian Lanker, were run. The Eulogy still sends shivers down my back.

The photo and Eulogy. Photo by Brian Lanker, Eulogy by Kenny Moore, Updated jpeg by Peter John L. Thompson (download here: Kenny Moore – Eulogy Program v.2 Lanker.pdf)

The final piece is from 1984, written by Kenny Moore, on the legacy of Steve Prefontaine. When Pre died, he held all US records from 2000m to 10,000m. My thoughts on this day are for his family, friends and fans. A guy at 24 is just on the cusp of life. I picture Pre with grey hair, a hot coffee, and a big burrito, watching track meets in Coos Bay in an Oregon hoodie. I could see Pre as a high school track coach. How lucky those kids would have been.

Take a few minutes and think about the legacy of Steve Prefontaine.

Thoughts on Pre, 1984, by Kenny Moore (download here: Thoughts on PRE – Kenny Moore 06.06.84.pdf)

Special thanks to Peter John L. Thompson for these amazing files.

Author

Larry Eder

Larry Eder has had a 52-year involvement in the sport of athletics. Larry has experienced the sport as an athlete, coach, magazine publisher, and now, journalist and blogger. His first article, on Don Bowden, America's first sub-4 minute miler, was published in RW in 1983. Larry has published several magazines on athletics, from American Athletics to the U.S. version of Spikes magazine. He currently manages the content and marketing development of the RunningNetwork, The Shoe Addicts, and RunBlogRun. Of RunBlogRun, his daily pilgrimage with the sport, Larry says: "I have to admit, I love traveling to far away meets, writing about the sport I love, and the athletes I respect, for my readers at runblogrun.com, the most of anything I have ever done, except, maybe running itself." Also does some updates for BBC Sports at key events, which he truly enjoys.

Theme song: Greg Allman, " I'm no Angel."

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