Posted: January 25, 2006

Athletics: Birthday Musings

From David Monti

© 2005 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved RaceResultsWeekly.com

Your editor turns 46 today, and he's inclined to think about others born on the same day. Do we really share something special or is it just another of life's coincidences?

Had he not perished tragically in an auto accident at the age of 24, Steve Prefontaine would be celebrating his 55th birthday today. The combative distance runner from Coos Bay, Ore., developed into one of America's best 5000m runners under the coaching of Bill Bowerman at the University of Oregon. At the time of his death, he held the Amerian records for every distance from 2000m to 10,000m. In all, he set 14 American records and broke 13:30 for 5000m nine times.

But Prefontaine's career wasn't about records, but rather his intense worth ethic and feirce competitive style. According to an analysis by Nike, Prefontaine never missed a single competition or practice session while he was at Oregon and won 21 consecutive meets. Between 1970 and 1975, Prefontaine won 82 of 102 outdoor meets, including the 1972 U.S. Olympic Trials at 5000m. In an epic race at the 1972 Olympic Games, he finished fourth in the 5000m.

A very much alive Gabe Jennings turns 27 today. The former Stanford University star with an unusual upright running style made it to the 2000 Olympics in the 1500m. But since then, he has drifted. When your editor spoke to him last May, he was framing houses, but still running. He spent some time in Mammoth Lakes, Calif., last year and ran his first marathon at the Cal International Marathon last December (2:19:32).

Somehow I feel that Prefontaine and Jennings are linked by more than their birthdays. Each with a unique competitive style, they possessed the ability to both intrigue and thrill fans while remaining true to their own inner voices to simply run hard and be themselves. Does Prefontaine now live through Jennings?

A few years ago I visited the little memorial set up for Prefontaine on Skyline Boulvard in Eugene, where the fatal accident took place. Even though he had died 27 years before, the monument was still active with running shoes and bib numbers left by the placque. I was immediately saddened as I took a few photos, but later felt that my own journey from financial analyst to distance running writer and consultant was somehow tied to our birthdays. Every year when I celebrate my birthday, I also celebrate Prefontaine's. Thinking of his heroic style, I am energized to keep my own involement in the sport going, to try to realize my own full potential.

Happy birthday, Steve and Gabe.

Other distance runners who are celebrating their birthdays today (from Mirko Jalava's excellent Tilastopaja.net website):

Luc Krotwaar (NED) 38 years-old
Brett Cartwright (AUS) 33
Lidia Chojecka (POL) 29
Danuta Teschner (POL) 34 
Ken Sparks (USA) 61

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