Prefontaine Page #2

---

I have this...

this magazine with a picture of you,

and, uh...

Stay right here.

What are you doing

out there? Bill?

Bill! You better not have

my new waffle iron!

Go! Go!

Why don't you go set down,

and take your shoes and socks off?

So you want to be a miler.

I am a miler.

Funny thing, when I saw you in

Corvallis, you won the two-mile.

Well, I won the mile as well.

But you set a record

in the two-mile.

Give me your foot up here.

I'm going to run a 3:49 here

by my junior year.

That's two seconds

under Ryun's world record.

How you gonna do that, rube?

I'm gonna run three seconds

faster every year.

Well, then I guess we'd better

get started right away.

Tomorrow, 6:
00 a.m.,

at the track.

You mind if I ask

what you're doin'?

No, I don't mind at all.

You son of a b*tch!

Have some of that.

6:
00 a.m., rube.

You ready to run?

- I just need a minute.

- Make sure you're stretched out.

The reason Lord Nelson never lost a battle

was 'cause he showed up 15 minutes early.

You'll be outta here

in less than four.

Can't run without proper shoes.

- Jesus, Bill.

- Hell of a pair of shoes.

You run like a prizefighter, rube.

You mad about somethin'?

Am I mad about something?

I only design 'em to last one race.

Just fell a lap short with that pair.

What was my time?

4:
03, give or take.

Pretty good, Pre,

without competition.

And without shoes.

You'll be running in the three-mile

for the team, rube.

- What did you say? - Your kick

is not fast enough for the mile.

I'll prove you wrong.

Doubtful, rube.

Highly doubtful.

Aw, Jesus, Bill.

He'll get over it.

The mile was everything

back then.

The glamour event

of track and field.

Every kid comin' along fool enough

to take up this crazy sport...

wanted to be the next Jim Ryun.

Forget Jim Ryun.

He's done.

I'm gonna be the first

Steve Prefontaine.

It must be nice to

wanna be yourself.

- Like I can't run with him? - Pre,

Becker's the conference mile champ.

Watch it, freshman. There's a

no-race policy during practice.

Fine.

Don't race me, then.

He's a cocky little mother.

I'd like to bottle it and force-feed

it to the rest of you guys.

Wendy Ray. KUGN, live.

Calling the last lap of this

lively twilight meet mile.

Pre is kicking hard

down the homestretch.

Here comes Becker.

It's a battle now between Becker

and the freshman phenom.

Oregon senior Thomas

Becker wins it...

outkicking Steve Prefontaine

down the stretch.

Don't even say it.

You are a damn

fine miler, rube.

I beat him before,

I'll beat him again.

Oh, I know you will.

This isn't about beating Becker.

Becker's never gonna be the best,

and you won't settle for anything less.

With your gas tank and your guts,

you could own the three-mile...

make it your goddamn plaything.

Nobody cares about

the three-mile.

Why don't you give 'em

a reason to care?

Hey, Felix, come here.

Back then, everyone had

either dope or beer.

Pre's drug was winning...

at everything.

# Out here in the field #

# I fought for my meals #

She's beautiful.

I love you! I love you!

# I don't need to fight #

# To prove I'm right #

# I don't need to be forgiven #

# Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

yeah, yeah, yeah #

You're the only person

I know who'd buy a gold MG.

What's wrong with a gold MG?

You've got to have a gold

medal to go with it.

Soon enough.

He was like a rocket breaking

free of the Earth's gravity.

- Get down here!

- Nothing could touch him.

- Goddamn it!

- You okay?

Pre is leading the N.C.A.A. final

on a foot with ten stitches in it.

Here comes Bjorkland,

the defending three-mile champion.

Looks like he smells blood,

and Dick Berkeley's going with him.

The freshman, Steve Prefontaine

regains the lead.

- Go! Go! Go!

- Come on!

Steve Prefontaine is the

three-mile champion...

in one of the most electrifying

performances in a long time.

One at a time!

One at a time!

Pre, how'd you feel

about the race?

If I'd gone out stronger, I could have

set an American record today.

You're disappointed?

You set an N.C.A.A. record.

I can run better, a lot better...

but I need better

competition to do it.

What about the end?

You must have had doubts...

when Bjorkland and Berkeley

came at you like that.

Never. What, I ran 2:00 flat

for the last two laps?

Let me tell you something.

Nobody... nobody's gonna outkick me.

I gotta go take care of my foot, guys.

Thanks a lot.

That was a very impressive

performance, rube.

I just ran my race.

I'm talking about the way

you ran your mouth.

Pre, you're gonna have every runner

in the country looking to gun you down.

Bring 'em on.

# I don't need to fight #

# To prove I'm right #

# I don't need to be forgiven #

# Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah #

I thought he was, basically...

a talented little pissant

from the day I met him.

As far as he was concerned, it was

like no one else on the team existed.

In the discus circle,

Oregon sophomore Mac Wilkins.

- Let's go!

- All right, Mac!

That's easily the best throw

of Wilkins career.

It's beyond the 190-foot mark. Should

qualify him for the Olympic Trials.

And guess who just

entered the field?

Go, Pre! Go, Pre!

Go, Pre! Go, Pre!

Go, Pre! Go, Pre!

Go, Pre!

I started calling him "World",

short for "World Famous".

That meet, I also

won the shot put.

I scored ten total

points for the team.

I mean, Pre won his race.

It was no record time or nothing.

He scored five points.

But did it stop him from running

three victory laps?

Or hogging the headlines

in the papers the next day?

It didn't matter how

many events I won.

He always had to be the man.

- # If you get down #

- Big Mac!

# And you get confused #

# And you don't remember #

# Who you been talkin' to #

- Route change.

- Pre...

# Concentration #

A little privacy, please?

- Hi.

- Hi.

- I love your stride.

- Yours isn't too bad, either.

- New on campus?

- I'm a freshman.

- What's your name?

- Nancy Alleman.

Steve was nothing like

I had expected him to be.

He never even told me

who he was.

I didn't tell you because...

you know, I wanted you

to like me for me.

I've heard things about you.

Well, that's just with

guys I run against.

I'm not that bad a guy.

I'm sure.

So, you race the 5,000

for the girls' team?

And the two-mile relay.

Ever since high school.

I could really do something with you.

What's that supposed to mean?

I mean as a runner.

Ellie. Ellie, no.

The guy's car is...

It stalled.

And double-parked.

I gotta tow him.

Steve, he would lie because

he didn't want to hurt anyone.

But what he didn't realize

was that... his lying...

it hurt a hundred times worse.

You don't have to sneak around

on me anymore, Mr. Big Shot.

This is ridiculous.

I was at the library.

Now go screw all the rich little

college girls your heart desires.

Wait a second.

Where are you goin'?

I came here for you.

Nothing else but you.

Look...

But you can't do this, Ellie.

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes