Stop Pre by Mark R. Elsis

Steve Prefontaine Leading The Munich 1972 Summer Olympics 5,000 Meter Race

“To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift.”
Steve Prefontaine

I was on the Varsity Track Team at La Salle Academy from 1972 to 1975. La Salle was, and still is, the oldest Catholic High School in the United States. I was a good runner, but nothing special, quite unlike my basketball skills, which I excelled at.

I enjoyed those long after-school runs all over Manhattan we would do as a team. My favorite was a ten-kilometer run down to the Southernmost tip of Manhattan, called Battery Park, and then back to La Salle on Second Avenue and Second Street in the Bowery section. I also enjoyed running by the World Trade Center as they were being built and going through the historic Wall Street district, where on Thursday, April 30, 1789, the first president of the United States, George Washington, was inaugurated.

Our coach, Dennis Healy, would frequently join us on these long runs. We ran across the Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan Bridge (Illegally, for the roadway was blocked off and we had to climb onto the subway tracks to get on the roadway that had many missing three-foot sections in the cement that you could see right down to the East River – Mr. Healy wasn’t with us), the Williamsburg Bridge, and the Queensboro Bridge, also known as the 59th Street Bridge, and since 2010, the Ed Koch Bridge.

Mr. Healy was the geometry teacher during my sophomore year (1972-1973). I was gifted at mathematics, and especially loved geometry, so I was looking forward to this class. At the beginning of my first class with him, he began to ask questions about the runners and times of the recently finished Munich 1972 Summer Olympics. I put my hand up for every question, for I knew the answer to each one.

At the end of the class, Mr. Healy asked me to stay for a minute, so I did. He told me, I found it astounding that you had exactly the correct time for each event I asked about. I replied to him, I have an encyclopedic memory for subjects that I have a keen interest in. He then asked do you like to run? I said yes, but I have never trained in running, basketball is my forte.

He then mentioned to me, I saw you run the half-mile during the La Salle sporting games and you had a very good time for a freshman. I said, thank you. I remember that I was doing well, but started to rig (really slow down) during the last two hundred yards or so. He then asked me if I would like to join the track team, and he promised me, my endurance would vastly improve. So I said yes, I will give it a try.

Dennis Healy was inducted into the La Salle Academy Athletics Hall of Fame the very first year it started, in 1987. Also inducted that first year was Dan Buckley, the Varsity Basketball coach and the man who recruited me to play basketball for La Salle when I was still in seventh grade at Ascension Grammar School.
https://www.lasalleacademy.org/alumni/hall-of-fame

I enjoyed running, so I soon officially joined the Varsity Track Team. I gradually got better and better at running, especially when running longer distances, so Mr. Healy was correct when he promised me my endurance would improve. However, I soon realized that I wasn’t going to be a great runner, but that was perfectly fine with me. The wonderful thing that running did was it stuck with me throughout my life, so much so that I ran the New York City Marathon in 1988 and again in 1991.

While on the track team, the runner I grew to admire the most was Steve Prefontaine. In many ways, I found him to be the personification of a great athlete, with admirable qualities that included dedication, hard training, and gutsy bravado. He was known for going out aggressively at the start of races to be the front-runner, and when he got the lead, he rarely relinquished it. He gained a reputation as an intimidating competitor who talked big but also delivered on it. Yet he was down to earth and friendly with those fans who admired and adored him.

Full Article: https://MeetingsAndStories.com/Steve-Prefontaine-by-Mark-R-Elsis

Subscribe To The MeetingsAndStories.com Newsletter
https://MeetingsAndStories.com/Subscribe

Support My Book Meeting and Stories
https://MeetingsAndStories.com/Donate

Meetings and Stories
The Wondrous Journey of My Life
by Mark R. Elsis
https://MeetingsAndStories.com