July 18, 2007

Following In Pre's Footsteps

A self-guided tour to places of interest in Eugene, Oregon, for fans of distance running legend Steve Prefontaine.

Details on Pre's Life and Records
View the Tour in Google Maps

Distance runner Steve Prefontaine, the precocious product of Coos Bay, Oregon was born in 1951 and enrolled at the University of Oregon in Eugene in the fall of 1969. He lived in Eugene until his death in a car accident in 1975.

1. Historic Hayward Field, home of University of Oregon track and field. During Pre's years the hard urethane track was a faded yellow and had a soft chipped surface for an inner jogging lane. At one point, shredded tires were part of the chip composition.

Powell Plaza, at the northeast entrance to Hayward, has historic information about Oregon track and field and Prefontaine.

The Bowerman Family Building, at the northwest corner of Hayward, has memorabilia of Pre and the UO track programs on display.

2. Pre's last finish line. Many races finished in the northeast corner of Hayward Field in the 1970s, including Pre's last race, a 5000m win — the only time he ever wore a black singlet.

3. UO coach Bill Bowerman had a small office under the old east grandstand at the north end of Hayward Field. UO throwers built a weight room there too.

4. Douglass Hall, Pre's dorm during his freshman year. He lived on an upper floor, his room facing north.

5. Pre's Rock, site of Prefontaine's fatal car accident. Take 15th Ave. straight east from Hayward Field. After the street curves to the right, go uphill steeply to the left on Birch Lane, then go right on Skyline Blvd. Careful! This is still a dangerous curve and parking is limited. Pre was heading down Skyline, coming from a friend's home on nearby Prospect. Pre's 1973 MGB crossed the center line, hit the rock and flipped over, pinning him underneath. The cause of the accident is still open to question.

6. Bowerman's main office. The track & field office in the old Athletic Department building was inside the fourth, fifth and sixth windows from the right. No black paint work, though, in the 1970s.

7. The Pad. Pre was a bartender here after finishing school.

8. Pre's fraternity. Pre's Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity house was on the southwest corner of 14th and Alder. Later it became Mama's Home Fried Truck Stop. Today it houses Pegasus Pizza at the back of the building.

9. The Atrium building in downtown Eugene, at 10th & Olive. Decathlon Club upstairs (there was talk about building a running track on the mezzanine), the Athletic Department (forerunner of the Nike Store) downstairs, in the northwest corner. The store had the wood-plank seating from the original Hayward Field west grandstand on the walls.

Pre's promotional work for Nike shoes brought him to the store where he and store managers Geoff Hollister and Jeff Bannister organized clinics through what they called the "Decathlon Club." They hoped to create a fitness center near Alton Baker Park, with wood-chip running trails nearby. Pre also dreamed of one day opening a sports bar called "Sub-4."

10. Pre's Trail west access and map/information sign about the trail. To get to the west sign/trail access, drive north over the Willamette River, take the first right onto MLK, then an immediate right and an immediate left into Alton Baker Park. Park in the lot on the left and look for the Pre's Trail sign on top of the rise.

11. Bike Trail. Pre did not have the soft-surface trails to train on, but he did train on the bike path adjacent to Alton Baker Park and continuing on both sides of the river. Pre met girlfriend Nancy Alleman while both were running on the bike trail.

12. Pre's Trail east access and map/information sign is south of Autzen Stadium (football), just across Leo Harris Parkway and a small canal. Drive east on MLK, take a right on Leo Harris and look for the canal bridge on your right. You can park on the left.

13. Bike Trail. To find the bike trail from the sign (no. 12), walk south along the paved path for 600m to the river.

Note: If you walk or cycle from Hayward Field, go north on Agate, cross Franklin and continue across the footbridge over the Willamette. You'll cross the bike trail and can continue 600m to Pre's Trail sign. You'll be near the Casanova Center.

14. Casanova Center (UO Athletic Department) was built after the Prefontaine era and houses the UO Athletics Hall of Fame. Pictures of Pre and other track & field greats are on display in the upstairs lobby. You can walk to 12 and 13 (east sign/access) from here.

15. The site of Pre's trailer park. The trailer that Pre shared with Pat Tyson is long gone but the trailer park and its ambiance are still there. From Hayward Field go east on Franklin Blvd., follow it as it turns right, go under the railroad trestle and look to the left. From the Casanova Center, go east on MLK into Springfield. Take a right on Pioneer Parkway, then right on Main. Cross the Willamette River and go left on Franklin Blvd. Go under the trestle and look left.