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" 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. "

Steve Prefontaine

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" 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

" 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. "

Steve Prefontaine

" I don't just go out there and run. I like to give people watching something exciting. "

Steve Prefontaine

" 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. "

Steve Prefontaine

" It's hard to run a mile when you're not a miler and to kick when you've led all the way. "

Steve Prefontaine

" 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. "

Steve Prefontaine

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

Steve Prefontaine

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

Steve Prefontaine

" I don't care about being on television. "

Steve Prefontaine

" 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. "

Steve Prefontaine

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

Steve Prefontaine

" What I want is to be number one. "

Steve Prefontaine

" People say I should be running for a gold medal for the old red, white and blue and all that bull, but it's not gonna be that way. "

Steve Prefontaine

" 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. "

Steve Prefontaine

" 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. "

Steve Prefontaine

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

Steve Prefontaine

" 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

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

Steve Prefontaine

" Did you ever run behind a slow pack? You get a trailing wind and a lot of body odor. "

Steve Prefontaine

" 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. "

Steve Prefontaine

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

Steve Prefontaine

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

Steve Prefontaine

" 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

" 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

" 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. "

Steve Prefontaine

" The AAU doesn't care about the athletes; why should I care about them? "

Steve Prefontaine

" I know places you better speak low if you've been to college. Men will come across the room and cold-deck you if you hold your glass wrong. "

Steve Prefontaine

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

Steve Prefontaine

" A race is a work of art that people can look at and be affected in as many ways they're capable of understanding. "

Steve Prefontaine

" 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