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" I like to be able to go out to dinner once in a while. I like to be able to drive my MG up the McKenzie River on a weekday afternoon. I like to be able to pay my bills on time. "

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" This is my last year at Oregon, and it means a lot to me. The people have been great to me up there, so if I have to run three races to win the Pac-8 title, I'll do it. Oh, sure, I'll probably be tired, but the people shouting will carry me across the finish line. "

Steve Prefontaine

Great

Run

Tired

" For me, running against the Poles and Czechs would be like running against high school kids. And I hate all this gung-ho, run-for-the-red-white-and-blue attitude that the AAU spouts. If that's important to some people, fine, more power to 'em. But, damn it, I wish they'd leave me alone to do what I want to do - run against the best. "

Steve Prefontaine

Alone

Best

" Nobody likes tainted victories. "

" When people go to a track meet, they're looking for something, a world record, something that hasn't been done before. You get all this magnetic energy, people focusing on one thing at the same time. I really get excited about it. It makes me want to compete even more. It makes it all worthwhile, all the hours of hard work. "

Steve Prefontaine

Time

Hard Work

" What I want is to be number one. "

Steve Prefontaine

Want

Number

" No one will ever win a 5,000-meter by running an easy two miles. Not against me. "

Steve Prefontaine

Two

Easy

" If the Olympics come around, and I'm in shape, then I'll compete. But I won't be representing the United States; I'll be representing myself. "

" If I want to go to Europe and get thrashed by the Europeans, that's my business. Every race I lose I learn from and get tougher. "

Steve Prefontaine

Learn

Business

" Somebody may beat me, but they are going to have to bleed to do it. "

Steve Prefontaine

Somebody

May

" World records at 19. I don't want that. Later, yes. And when it comes, I'll learn to live with it, but it won't be my first love. "

" I'm going to work so that it's a pure guts race at the end, and if it is, I am the only one who can win it. "

" Over the years, I've given myself a thousand reasons to keep running, but it always comes back to where it started. It comes down to self-satisfaction and a sense of achievement. "

" Why shouldn't I do what I want to do... I'm an American citizen. "

" Kids made fun of me because I was a slow learner, because I was hyperactive, because of a lot of things. Running gave me confidence. "

Steve Prefontaine

Slow

Fun

" My philosophy is that I'm an artist. I perform an art not with a paint brush or a camera. I perform with bodily movement. Instead of exhibiting my art in a museum or a book or on canvas, I exhibit my art in front of the multitudes. "

" It doesn't feel that good when you're ahead the whole way. "

" If he's having a good day and running the right race, nobody can beat Frank Shorter at 10,000 meters... nobody except me. "

" Coos Bay is a sports-minded town. You had to be an athlete to be somebody. "

" I have a positive mental attitude, and I think I'm divine, but I also think it takes a heck of a lot of blood, sweat and tears. "

" What I like most about track is the feeling I get inside after a good run. "

Steve Prefontaine

Run

Good

" I decided that if I was going to continue in track, that I didn't want to lose, that I wasn't going to lose. "

" Some people create with words or with music or with a brush and paints. I like to make something beautiful when I run. I like to make people stop and say, 'I've never seen anyone run like that before.' It's more than just a race, it's a style. It's doing something better than anyone else. It's being creative. "

" A lot of people run a race to see who is fastest. I run to see who has the most guts, who can punish himself into exhausting pace, and then at the end, punish himself even more. "

Steve Prefontaine

End

People

" I knew I had to show everybody that I could excel at something. But I didn't know what. "

" What does it prove, running in the AAU meet? "

" Something inside of me just said 'Hey, wait a minute, I want to beat him,' and I just took off. "

" To hell with love of country - I compete for myself. "

" American athletes, especially distance runners, are at a big disadvantage against the rest of the world. We're expected to live by all the rules, like not being able to coach, but still train and make our own living. "

" It's not who's the best - it's who can take the most pain. "

" If you can make money with your talents, why not? "