I like track and field. When I was at UCLA in the 60s, I'd go to a meet on a Saturday afternoon and only a few hundred fans were watching. No big deal. I came to grad school at the Univ of Oregon and came to a meet -- and thousands were there!
I was in attendance the evening of the Twilight "Miracle" Mile that made the front cover of Sports Illustrated, when the first 4 or 5 runners broke 4 minutes.
Steve Prefontaine
Steve Prefontaine was the big gun then, of course, A great runner to watch. Also something of a wild man. Liked his beer. There are two bioflicks out about him: in one, the official one, an anonymous car forces him off the road to his death; in the other, he is speeding and it's left possible that he caused his own death. Knowing his wildness, I tend to agree with the latter, though it's locally the politically incorrect version. We don't like blemishes on our heroes. But I can easily imagine him speeding to his death, with or without intoxication. He was that kind of a risk taker.
Whether Rupp (see clip) becomes another Prefontaine remains to be seen but he's off to a good start.
I was in attendance the evening of the Twilight "Miracle" Mile that made the front cover of Sports Illustrated, when the first 4 or 5 runners broke 4 minutes.
Steve Prefontaine
Steve Prefontaine was the big gun then, of course, A great runner to watch. Also something of a wild man. Liked his beer. There are two bioflicks out about him: in one, the official one, an anonymous car forces him off the road to his death; in the other, he is speeding and it's left possible that he caused his own death. Knowing his wildness, I tend to agree with the latter, though it's locally the politically incorrect version. We don't like blemishes on our heroes. But I can easily imagine him speeding to his death, with or without intoxication. He was that kind of a risk taker.
Whether Rupp (see clip) becomes another Prefontaine remains to be seen but he's off to a good start.
Galen Rupp
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