Question #1: What
were some of the staple Dellinger workouts during the track season for the
middle distance runners? Distance runners?
My memory isn’t that
good of our regular workouts. However like many runners I kept a detailed
training diary and I just pulled out my training journal from my freshman year.
My diary went from
Monday September 20, 1971 through June 11, 1972. I came to
We tried to run about 20
minutes easy every weekday morning. That sounds easy and it added about
15 miles per week of building a running base. But getting up to run was
often difficult for me:
9/29/71
– “Too lazy to get out of bed. The room was freezing and the bed was so
warm and comfortable.”
10/6/71 – “My blister
bothered me so I didn’t run”
10/8/71 – “Too tired to
run”
10/15/71 – “Had to study
for a test”
10/21/71 – “Nothing
because of my cold”
10/28/71 – “Nothing –
was tired and missed class”
11/1/71 – “Overslept”
11/5/71 – “Nothing
because of my sore ankle”
11/18/71 – “Slept in and
skipped a class”
11/23/71 – “Big test in
math. Stayed up until 5am”
1/27/72 – “Snowy and
cold”
2/28/72 – “Very windy
and rainy”
I’d usually get in 3 or
4 morning runs.
I noticed that as I got
into the spring track season my morning runs were more infrequent. I’d
say that a big difference between me and the distance runners were they were
much more diligent and disciplined in getting in their morning runs. I
was constantly finding an excuse and I think it was good for me to “listen to
my body” because our speed work took more of a toll on our legs & feet plus
I’d break down with too many miles … even though they were easy miles.
Also I think that Pre basically NEVER missed a morning run.
Tuesday, Thursday, and
Saturday were track days for us middle distance runners. I lived for
those workouts. Dellinger would post our weekly workouts on Monday, I’d
make a point to read them on the way to class, and I’d get psyched for the
workouts. Even though I found excuses not to do my morning runs … I can’t
find a Tuesday, Thursday, or Saturday workout that I missed for reasons other
than holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas), significant soreness / sickness, or
travel.
Before I detail out my
track days, I’ll comment on the workout days other than Tuesday, Thursday, and
Saturday.
Monday afternoons were
almost always a 4 – 6 mile run with the route and pace usually depending upon
who I happened to run with. In looking at my journal I’d usually finish
at the track and do some quick strides (eg, 4 x 110)
or I’d go to the weight room and / or sauna before my shower. I was
pretty consistent in doing my Monday runs.
Wednesday runs were erratic
for me. They ranged from nothing (10/20/71 “Nothing because I’m coming
down with a cold. Stayed indoors and skipped classes”) to 2 miles
(9/29/71 “Very lethargic and just jogged about 2 miles”) to 7+ miles (3/8/72 “I
felt great! Went out on a long run with Dean. 8 or 9 miles. We experimented with different trails
and had a great, relaxing run.”) I think the Wednesday runs were
difficult for me because of the often challenging Tuesday / Thursday track
workouts. I would be recovering from Tuesday and I’d want to be sharp for
Thursday.
Friday runs were
designed to be easy, mainly to develop the habit for track season when the
Friday run was just loosening up for a Saturday race. My journal usually
says “3 mile easy run”.
Sundays runs were about an hour
… usually in the range of 48 to 55 minutes.
My Tuesday workouts were
a lot of intervals or simulated races. Tuesdays were the hardest track
days because they were further from our normal Saturday race dayes. Examples of Tuesdays:
9/21/71 – 3 sets of 3 x
330 (total of 9 x 330), easy mile, 6 x 100, 3 mile easy run
9/28/71 – 8 x 440, easy
3 mile run, 6 x 110
10/5/71 – 2 x 1320, 2 x
880, 2 x 44, 2 x 220, easy run, 4 x 330
10/18/71 – 3 x 880, 3 x
440, 3 x 220, 3 x 110
10/26/71 – 3 x 660
(1:30, 1:27, 1:24), 20 minute easy run, 3 x 330 (45, 43, 41), 3 x 110
11/2/71 – 1 x 550 (55 at
the 440), 1 x 330 (39), 2 x 165, 4 mile easy run, 6 x 330 (cutdown
48 to 42)
11/9/71 – 15 x 220 (cutdown 32 to 28)
11/16/71 – Mile (4:36),
1320 (3:22), 880 (2:09), 440 (63), 4 x 220, mile easy
11/30/71 – 6 x (220 in
27 then 440 in 90), 4 mile easy run, 3 x 330
12/7/71 – 6 x 330
(41-43), 3 mile easy run, 6 x 330 (47, 44, 41)
1/25/72 – 440 (53), 1
mile easy run, 440 (52.1), 1 mile easy run, 2 x 220 (24.9, 24.5), short rest, 2
x 110
2/1/72 – 6 x 110 (fast,
all under 12), 3 mile easy run, 6 x 220 (cutdown 30
to 25)
2/15/72 – 6 x 330 (all
under 41 with last in 38.2), 3 mile easy jog, 6 x 110 (started at 16 and last
was 11.5)
3/1/72 – 550 (53 at 440),
550 jog, 330 (39), 550 jog, 2 x 165 (19), 3 miles easy on grass, 3 x 330 (47,
44, 41.5)
Thursdays seem to be
shorter, quicker track days with an easy run in the middle. A sampling of
Thursday workouts:
9/23/71 – 16 x 165
(24-25 seconds), 3 miles easy
9/30/71 – 3 sets of 4 x
165 (total 12 x 165), first set in 25, second set in 22, third set in 25, 3
mile easy run, 3 x 330
10/7/71 – 4 x 165, 4
mile Lydiard Fartlek, 4 x 220
10/14/71 – 3 x 110 (12),
20 minute easy run, 3 x 165
10/28/71 – First & Last
220 drill … 220 (24), 440 (90), 220 (25), fast 4 mile run, 3 x 330
11/11/71 – 2 x 110, 6
mile fast run, 4 x 110
11/18/71 – 6 x 330 (42),
3 miles easy, 6 x 110 (cutdown 15 to 12)
12/2/71 – First &
Last 220 drill … 220 (24.9), 440 (81), 220 (26), 3 miles easy, 3 x 330 (45, 44,
38)
1/20/72 – 6 x 165 then
inside to
1/27/72 – 2 x 220 (28,
27), 3 miles easy, 4 x 110
2/17/72 – 2 x 110, 4
mile easy run, 4 x 110
3/9/72 – 3 x 330 (44,
42, 37.5), 4 mile easy run, 3 x 110
Saturdays were time
trials, simulated races, and then real races during track season. A
sampling (actually most) of Saturday workouts:
9/25/71 – Time trial … I
ran 3 miles in 16:20 … the fastest 6 mile was 30:17
10/2/71 – Time trial …
880 in 1:56, 5 mile easy run, 4 x 330
10/9/71 – Time trial … I
ran 3 miles in 15:32, 2 mile jog, 4 x 330 (49, 47, 46, 40)
10/16/71 – Time trial …
A touch over 3 miles in 15:35
10/23/71 – A timed
distance run … approx 9 miles on the road … first mile 5:20 with finish time at
54:12, 4 x 330 (48) on track
10/30/71 – Time trial …
a touch over 3 miles in 15:45 (same course as 2 weeks earlier and 10 seconds
slower)
11/13/71 – 3 sets of
(660, 440, 330, 220, 110), 3 mile medium paced run
11/20/71 – 20 x 220
(averaged about 29) with 1 minute rest between each
12/4/71 – Time trial
(rainy, cold, many puddles) … 660 in 1:23, 3 mile easy run, 3 x 330 (47, 44,
39)
12/11/71 – Time trial …
880 in 1:54.6 (my fastest 880 ever!)
1/15/72 – 10 x 220 (30),
3 mile easy run
1/22/72 – Time trial …
990 in 2:10.2 (1:55 at 880), easy jog, 6 x 330 (cutdown
45 to 42)
1/29/72 – Indoor
Competition on wooden track, won 1000 yard race in 2:14.2.
2/19/72 – Time trial …
770 in 1:37 (55.5 at 440, 1:23 at 660), 2 x 165, light jog, 3 x 110
2/26/72 – 1320 (3:27), 2
x 880 (2:10), 3 x 440 (62, 59, 55.5), 4 x 220 (cutdown
30 to 25), 3 mile easy run, 3 x 110
3/4/72 – Time trial …
1:51.4 (55 at 440, 1:23.5 at 660) … my fastest time ever at 880!
3/11/72 – Fast pace … 440
(51.9), 2 x 220 (25, 24), 3 x 110 (12.5), 3 mile easy run, 3 x 220 (28, 26, 24)
3/18/72 –
3/25/72 –
4/1/72 –
4/8/72 – at
4/15/72 – at
4/23/72 (Sunday) –
Oregon Twilight Meet in
4/29/72 – Workout of
simulated 880 of 660 (1:21.7), 880 jog, 220 (24.5), long jog, 2 x 110 (11.6,
11.1)
5/6/72 –
5/13/72 – Northern
Division at
5/19/72 (Friday) –
Pac-10 Trials … 2nd 1:51.0
5/20/72 (Saturday) –
Pac-10 Finals … 2nd 880 1:48.6
5/21/72 (Sunday) –
Simulated 880 for 3 race days in a row … 550 (66.8), 1 lap jog, 3 x 110 (11.8,
12.2, 11.5)
5/27/72 – No meet so
sharpening workout of 6 x 330 (40.3, 40.7, 38.8, 40.4, 39.2, 38.5) with 330 jog
between each
6/1/72 (Thursday) – NCAA
Prelims in
6/2/72 (Friday) – NCAA
Semi-Finals in
6/3/72 (Saturday) – NCAA
Finals in
Regarding the distance runners
workouts, I’m having trouble remembering (or maybe I didn’t really pay
attention). As I mentioned, they were better at getting in their 20
minute morning runs, more consistent in doing their Monday, Wednesday, and
Sunday runs; and on the track they did slightly longer intervals (eg, 440 or 660 instead of 330) or more (eg,
8 x 220 instead of 6 x 220), slower paced, and with shorter rest (they often
jogged their rest intervals instead of walking).
Question #2: What
was it like to be a runner in
For me, I went from high
school in June 1971 where track was not a well-known or well-understood to
Bill Bowerman
who was the 1972 head Olympic coach for track & field introduced jogging to
the United States in the mid 1960’s and by the early 1970’s it was common to
see Eugene citizens running on the track and on the streets. When I ran
on the streets in other towns around the
Question #2.5: Who were some
of the top runners on the
During my 4 years at
When I ran my personal
best in the mile (4:02) I was fourth place in the race. The three runners
in front of me were my
Bill Bowerman,
our head coach my freshman year, was the 1972 head Olympic coach for track
& field. Bill Dellinger, the assistant coach at the time responsible
for the middle and distance runners, was a 2-time NCAA champion, 6 time
American record holder, 2 time indoor world record holder, 3 time
Olympian, and the 5000 meter bronze medalist in the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.
My roommate my sophomore
year was Paul Geis. Paul ran the mile in
3:58.1, 5000 meters in 13:23, 1974 NCAA 3 mile champion, and placed 12th in the
1976 Montreal Olympics 5000 meter finals.
My roommate my junior
and senior year (and my best man at my wedding) was Mark Feig
who ran a 3:58.5 mile while at
Some more of the
specific names of my friends and teammates that contributed to the stats I just
mentioned:
Steve Prefontaine – 7 time NCAA individual champion, 4th in 5000
meters at 1972 Olympics, held every American record from 2000 meters to 10,000
meters, 3:54.6 mile
Mac Wilkins – world
record holder and Olympic champion
Matt Centrowitz
– 1976 and 1980 Olympics, 5000 meter American record holder, post collegiate
mile of 3:54.94
Pete Schmock
– 1980 Olympics in the shot put
Bouncy
Question
#2.75: Any interesting stories regarding any of the above listed
teammates?
Stories? Where would I even start?
I’ll blend
several stories together that incorporate the
Prefontaine went to the 1972 Olympics expecting to win the gold medal.
It was a natural thought growing up in the
Pre ran the
1972 Olympic race to win. However because he didn’t just settle for a
medal he overextended himself and fell to fourth place in the last steps of his
race. He was devastated.
After the race
Eugene Register Guard reporter Blaine Newnham tried
to talk to him.
Prefontaine said, “I’ve got nothing to say,” and headed for the darkest
corner.
Newnham said, “Wait a minute, you’ve got to talk to me. What
about all those people back in Eugene, the people at Hayward Field, Pre’s people? They’ve lived this race for you, they
can understand what happened and we’ve got to talk.”
Mention of Pre’s people stopped him. Newnham
asked, “How old are you, twenty-one? And you finish fourth in the world,
how bad is that?”
“Well, that’s
not too bad” Pre answered.
Newnham continued, “Did you run for third or second? No, you
ran to win, you took the lead with a mile to go, you ran your butt off, and you
finished fourth, now how bad is that?”
“No, it wasn’t
that bad” Pre repeated.
“What he needed,“ Newnham said later, “was
someone to put his arm around him, to kind of hug him and say it’s okay, we
understand. Pre’s People understand.”
A little later
that same day Pre caught up to fellow Oregonian Kenny Moore who just finished
the marathon. Because they were running at the same time they didn’t know
how each other did.
Pre ran over to
Kenny and asked, “How did you do?” Kenny dejectedly responded, “fourth”.
Pre countered,
“Kenny, that is great! Out of all the billions
of people in the world you were fourth. You have to be proud!”
Kenny
nodded. Then Kenny mustered up some positive energy for what must have
been good news, “Pre, what did YOU get?”
Pre responded,
“The worst place you can ever finish. F*(*ing fourth”.
After the Olympics Pre retreated from racing and training for a
while to lick his wounds. In 1973 Pre started to train again with
his friends and teammates who understood the blow that he took.
Pre gradually
began to remember that he loved running and winning, that the Olympics were not
the only, or even the main, reason he ran. He became excited about the
possibilities of life again.
Arne Kvalheim helped keep Pre centered.
During one run,
Pre proudly reported news from his home town, “
“What are they
going to call it?” asked Arne. “
Question #3:
Share a couple of your favorite Steve Prefontaine
memories.
I’ll share my
favorite memory of Steve. It happened during the last 24 hours of his
life.
Pre ran his
final race on Thursday evening May 29, 1975. Pre put together the meet so
a delegation from
Earlier that
Thursday morning I went out for an easy jog to get ready to race. I was
running 800 meters that night. Pre saw me and insisted that I, my
roommate Mark Feig, and Matt Centrowitz
go to his house during the day to relax. Pre was hyper and needed others
to keep him distracted and calm. I said that I needed to study for a math
final so I took my book with me to study. Mark, Pre, and Matt played a
3-handed card game (probably Spades).
Later in the
afternoon Pre dressed for the meet and we started to leave. The plan was
to go to Mark’s and my apartment which was across the street from Hayward
Field, the rest of us would change into our uniforms, and then jog over to the
track. But just before we left Pre said that he wanted to get a picture
of the four of us. We were the four anchor people on a Fall
relay race from
(Matt Centrowitz, dorky me Steve Bence,
Pre, Mark Feig)
Weeks after Pre’s death the film in Pre’s camera was developed and I was given the picture
above.
We went to
Mark’s and my apartment. We changed, jogged to the track, and then the
focus was on Pre. Not only was Kenny Moore trying to cover the story of
the Finns in Oregon and Pre trying to break the American 5000 meter record but
the Sports Illustrated photographer was trying to capture the story in
pictures. Pre came up to me before my race to encourage me:
(Steve Bence and Steve Prefontaine … Pre’s last day)
That Thursday
race turned out to be my last race as a
Pre went to the
party for the Finns that evening and the rest of us went to the
At 6am the next
morning I was awoken by a phone call to hear that Pre was dead. Our lives
changed.
Question #4:
Give us the details of your best collegiate track race.
I am 53 years
old and with my journal I don’t need to rely on my memory. My wife asks
me how I can remember a race 30+ years ago when I can’t remember our best
friends’ phone number.
My races during
my freshman year were probably some of my best. Not only was I was
surprising myself on my success, I was surprising my teammates and
[3/18/72 at
[3/25/72 at
[4/1/72 in
[4/8/72 at
[4/15/72 at
[5/6/72
[5/20/72 Pac-8
Finals at Stanford] “I got stuck in lane 7. After the gun I cut in
behind either Sanchez or Burks. Collins passed and I followed. At
the 440 the time was a fast 53.5 with Collins ahead of me. Collins picked
up the pace. Then, BANG, with 300 yards to go Brown shot passed us both.
I followed but not as fast. I started catching him at the end but
he had too much of a lead. He finished in 1:47.7, two tenths off the meet
record. I was second in 1:48.6 and Smylie was
third in 1:49.2. I was interviewed by reporters, on the radio, and
received a huge medal.”
[6/1/72 NCAA
Prelims in
[6/2/72 NCAA
Semi-Finals in
[6/3/72 NCAA
Finals in
Question
#5: What was the reaction to Prefontaine's
untimely death?
I gave you the
story of Pre’s last day above. For most of us
on the team and friends of Pre, Pre’s death was our
first death experience with a close friend. For me it was very surreal
that I spent Thursday with Pre, raced with him on that day, had several
pictures taken with him, and he vowed to be my new coach starting on Saturday.
However on that
Friday morning, a beautiful clear
Question
#6: What influence did Bill Bowerman and Bill
Dellinger leave with you?
Since my email
is so long and it is getting late, I’ll answer by saying that anyone that has
been inspired by a coach will know the answer to this question. But I’ll
continue.
I’m a product
of a minor sport with figures that are strong for my sport? Bowerman and Dellinger don’t get much bigger for track and
field. Think about me as 53 year old man in 2007 that had a personal
connection to Bowerman and Dellinger as a 17 year old
wide-eyed kid in 1971.
The impact on
me is huge and better articulated by the influence that Bowerman
had on Phil Knight which is a key theme in Kenny Moore’s book.
Kenny Moore
concludes his 417 page book with the following hand written undelivered note
from Bill Bowerman (the coach) to Nike’s founder and
Chairman of the Board Phil Knight (the athlete) …
Dear Buck (Phil
Knight),
I want to tell
my “Partner in Sports” how much I admire your leadership and the crew or team
you have assembled and direct.
The road has
had some sharp curves. Yes, and some major
obstacles to get around or over.
I have never
availed myself of the opportunity to express my admiration for your leadership
and accomplishments in the growth, from small Blue Ribbon to International Nike
Inc.
Your leadership
has been phenomenal. Barb joins me in appreciation and admiration.”
Bowerman left the note unsigned and undelivered. A few days after Bill’s death Barbara (Bowerman’s
wife) delivered the entire legal pad to Knight.
“Am I going to
cry?” Phil asked Barbara.
She nodded, so
he took it away to read alone.
“That note
resides in a sacred drawer,” Phil would say later, knowing at last the Bill Bowerman had judged him worthy.
Question #7:
When did you get involved with Nike? In ________ did you envision Nike
becoming what it is today?
Blue Ribbon
Sports started in the 1960’s and they imported Tiger shoes. I wore Tiger
in 1971 to train and compete and switched to Adidas in 1972.
The first Nike
product was on athletes in 1972. Since I was on the
During my
When I
graduated college I taught school and coached. In the summer of 1977 I
worked at a Nike retail store and then I was recruited to work full time for
Nike and move overseas. I remember my mother telling me that I needed to
quit my ties to athletics and get a “real job”. I quit teaching in 1977,
worked full time for Nike, and moved to
I personally
had no vision that Nike would grow to what it is today. I doubt that
anyone at the time including Phil Knight could have envisioned what Nike is
today. In fact Phil kept his “day job” for quite a while before working
full time for his own company. In the early days I thought Phil was proud
that his new company could provide a full time income for so many people.
However over
the years Nike would not be what it is today without Phil’s step by step vision
of the future.
Question #8:
What was your part in the making of the movie, Without Limits?
Kenny Moore
called me out of the blue to work on the movie.
I contributed
by loaning my clothing (uniforms, sweats, tee shirts, etc from that time) and
my training journals.
I gave input to
the script writing, was on the set for a lot of the filming, and generated
support from true fans of the era.
Jeffrey
Atkinson played me in the movie.
I’m credited as
the track & field consultant.
Question
#9: Sum up your memories of your
I never set
foot in the state of
My
I fell in love
with the state of
The attack on Nike as the villain in the global environmental and
worker issues are mis-directed. I’m
proud of the leadership from
I am now a
champion of
My
Steve Bence