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Oregon teen feels he can drive faster with Steve Prefontaine watching over him
By Bill Lilley
Beacon Journal
Published on Wednesday, Jul 23, 2008
Steve Prefontaine has been dead more than 33 years.
But on Saturday, the spirit of the legendary distance runner who was known throughout the world simply as ''Pre,'' will be racing down the hill in the 71st running of the All-American Soap Box Derby.
One of the cars at Akron's Derby Downs is dominated by images of Prefontaine. These serve as both a memorial to the greatest middle-distance competitor in the history of running in America and an inspiration to masters division driver Zaine Stapleton of Portland, Ore.
Zaine's white car with green and yellow stripes features pictures of Pre, with his trademark long hair and mustache, on both sides. There's also a running image of Prefontaine and a ''Pre Lives'' logo on top of the hatch.
Inside, there are three pictures that Zaine can focus on while he's cocooned in the cockpit: Prefontaine running in the 1972 Olympics in Munich, the Nike Men's Air Coos shoe that was a tribute to Prefontaine, and Prefontaine and Nike shoe creator Bill Bowerman, then the track coach at Oregon.
Zaine is required to wear an official light green All-American Soap Box Derby T-shirt for all appearances and photos. But when he races, he wears a white T-shirt with Prefontaine's picture and the ''Pre Lives'' logo.
''I feel like he's racing with me and that I'll go faster,'' said Zaine, 16, who will be a junior at David Douglas High School in Portland next month and is making his second appearance at the All-American. Five years ago, he won one heat and finished 36th in the stock division.
His idolization of Prefontaine started when his sister Maddison, who's also in Akron and racing in the super stock division, hung a poster of Oregon native Prefontaine on the door to her bedroom several years ago.
''At first I thought it was the guy from the TV show My Name Is Earl,'' Zaine said. ''But as soon as I found out who it was
and what he had done and how he had done things, he became my hero.
''It was great that he was a great runner and had run in the Olympics. But what impressed me more was his attitude about everything he did. He never stopped going as hard as he could. He simply refused to lose and that's what made him such a great runner.''
Prefontaine died at age 24 when his sports car crashed on a winding road on May 30, 1975.
Zaine's lean build makes him a natural to be a runner when he's not racing down hills in a soap box derby as he has for the last eight years. He runs cross country and competes in distance races in track and field at Douglas High.
His 5-foot-10 frame, however, is a bit of problem in a derby car.
''The only way I can fit into the car is to have my feet crossed in the nose,'' he said. ''My feet are past the brake pedal, so I have to use a special hand brake.''
Zaine had far less trouble getting the images of Prefontaine on his car. Again, his sister was the key.
Maddison Stapleton is going to Eastern Oregon University in La Grande, Ore., on a combination of art and track and field scholarships. She is a two-time Oregon high school state-meet qualifier in the pole vault.
She did the design and painting for Zaine's Pre car and also decorated her own car in a tribute theme to the rock band U2.
Both cars were a labor of love for the 17-year-old who won her local race in Portland and is competing in her final soap box derby race. She will be ineligible to race after she turns 18 on Aug. 28.
''I'm going to major in art and graphic design, so it was fun for me to do,'' Maddison said. ''And I love Steve Prefontaine. He's pretty cool. He's a great runner. And he's a great role model for runners — he helped with the running revolution.''
Bill Lilley can be reached at 330-996-3811 or blilley@thebeaconjournal.com.
Steve Prefontaine has been dead more than 33 years.
Get the full article here.
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