Today marks the 30th Anniversary of the death of the great Steve Prefontaine. It has even more significance
as we are currently staying in Eugene, the place where Pre made his name and was to lose his life at the age of 24.
The last two days I have been enjoying the magic of training at Hayward Field Track - Home of the Oregon Ducks and then
running on Pre’s trail in the evenings. Eugene is a running town - so for a travelling athlete, Eugene can feel like
a home from home. Last week in Brazil, I was lucky enough to meet and chat to another famous Oregon star, Joaquim Cruz, 800m
gold medallist from 1984.
It is a great place to come and train and prepare for the Pre Classic this Saturday. An interesting spectator will be Pre’s
sister, Linda, who we met by chance this morning, who was with her daughter and family. She remembered meeting us when I ran
in the Prefontaine memorial 10k run in his home town of Coosbay in 2002. She told me that along with the other Prefontaine
family, that they will be cheering me on every step of the mile race. That’ll make my debut at the Pre Classic even
more special.
RIP Steve Prefontaine
stay strong and run hard
best wishes
James Thie
