Running on Empty

"To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift"

- Steve Prefontaine

As promised, a post on the running boom of the 1970s- more specifically, the people who inspired it.

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Before the 1970s, people didn't really run "for fun," and jogging was nowhere close to being in vogue. The 1972 Munich Olympics changed that: it was there that Frank Shorter became the first American since Johnny Hayes (1908) to win the men's marathon.  The dramatic event, broadcasted on ABC and the source of one of the most famous sporting lines of all time was the spark of what would eventually become known as the running boom of the 1970s.  The television broadcast of the marathon brought the sport of long-distance running into the living rooms of millions across the United States, and changed people's perceptions of what the sport could be (or educated them- many people had never even heard of a marathon).

Steve Prefontaine

At the same time, other well-known runners were skyrocketing the popularity of running.  Perhaps the most celebrated is Steve Prefontaine- the young running prodigy from Coos Bay, Oregon who never lost a single race in his NCAA career at the University of Oregon, and who ultimately died tragically at the age of 24.  

Prefontaine (also known affectionately as "Pre") was a middle and long distance runner who won 120 of the 153 races he ran, and at one point held the American record in seven different track events.  Unlike other runners who typically mesmerize crowds, Prefontaine didn't run elegantly or smoothly; rather, he made a show of the immense effort he put into his craft, and often looked "ravaged" by the end of a race.  Known for his mustache and long hair, Pre quickly became a recognizable and iconic figure in the running community.

Oh, and his coach was the legendary Bill Bowerman, who you might know as the co-founder of Nike.   You may know that it was Bowerman who first designed and manufactured the classic waffled Nike sole pattern, but did you know that he actually used his wife's waffle iron (and eventually ruined it) to achieve the effect?  Bowerman employed many of his running protegees (including Prefontaine) at the company- thus truly merging the sport and the product.
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Many long distance runners enjoy competing because it provides an opportunity to challenge and better oneself- it's both an introspective and exhilarating endeavor.  It's true that you're always racing against yourself.

Those unfamiliar with the sport may associate it with solitude, or a lack of the comradery-building teamwork associated with sports like soccer or football.  But ultimately, running is about the community- the people who run every day and know how challenging it is to do so.  This quality has been a prominent element of the sport since its start.  Prefontaine was good friends with both Bowerman and Shorter, and on a much grander scale fought for the rights of all amateur athletes.  And perhaps more importantly, he was most assuredly a fixture in his community of Northeastern Oregon: a testament to the fact that, like so many other things in the 70s, the running boom was a grassroots movement that transformed the nation.