Steve Prefontaine

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 foolish dream Steve'. But they forgot something, I HAVE TO WIN.

The AAU doesn't care about the athletes; why should I care about them?

The best pace is a suicide pace, and today looks like a good day to die.

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. It's being creative.

This is my last year at Oregon, and it means a lot to me. The people have been great to me up there, so if I have to run three races to win the Pac-8 title, I'll do it. Oh, sure, I'll probably be tired, but the people shouting will carry me across the finish line.

World records at 19. I don't want that. Later, yes. And when it comes, I'll learn to live with it, but it won't be my first love.

I'm the one who has made all the sacrifices. Those are my American records, not the country's.

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.

If I lose forcing the pace all the way, well, at least I can live with myself. But if it's a slow pace, and I get beaten by a kicker who leaches off the front, then I'll always wonder, 'What if...?'

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.

If the Olympics come around, and I'm in shape, then I'll compete. But I won't be representing the United States; I'll be representing myself.

My philosophy is that I'm an artist. I perform an art not with a paint brush or a camera. I perform with bodily movement. Instead of exhibiting my art in a museum or a book or on canvas, I exhibit my art in front of the multitudes.

How does a kid from Coos Bay, with one leg longer than the other win races?

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

Don’t be afraid to give up the good for the great.