Prefontaine Memorial Run
- September 20th 2025
- 10:05 AM (PST)
Please make sure to read the complete rules before participating. Click the button below to access the full instructions.
International Track Star
Running Legend
To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift.
During his brief 24-year lifespan, Steve Prefontaine grew from hometown hero, to record-setting college phenomenon, to internationally acclaimed track star. In a similar span of years since his death in 1975, Pre has become the stuff of enduring legend.
His rare combination of talent, discipline, determination, and star-quality with a human touch made Pre the idol of those he called “his people” — the devoted fans who came to watch him run and entered into the performance with roars of encouragement, “Go Pre!” At no place is the celebration of Steve Prefontaine and his story more personal than in Coos Bay, Oregon, where he was born in 1951 and discovered his gift for running fast and far as a student at Marshfield High School. Here, he developed his hunger to be the best in the field, and more, to do it with style—to create beauty when he ran, to show people something they had never seen before.
Steve Prefontaine is honored every year at the Prefontaine Memorial Run, a challenging 10K road race across one of his old training courses, with its finish line at the high school track where he first competed. This is where he tested his mettle and felt the possibility of greatness, and his hometown saw greatness, too. We warmly invite you to come to Coos Bay every third Saturday in September and run where Pre’s legend began. This year we celebrate “The Spirit of Pre”, as we commemorate 50 years since Pre’s passing in May, 1975.
Prize money to be awarded in 2025.
and then Race Details.
Special 2-Night Hotel Discounts – Stay & Save
After a jam-packed weekend at the Bay Area Fun Festival, the
Annual Prefontaine Run, and Cruz the Coos, why cut your adventure short?
Thanks to the efforts of Janice Langlinais, our local lodging partners are offering
exclusive discounted rates for 2-night stays so you can extend your weekend, relax,
and enjoy even more of Oregon’s Adventure Coast.
Whether it’s an extra beach walk, a delicious dinner, or simply a quiet evening before the new week begins, this is your chance to make the most of your visit.
And if you’re traveling south, keep in mind that Highway 101 will have a Sunday night detour due to construction. Avoid the hassle, take advantage of these savings, and enjoy a stress-free Monday departure.
Click below to view each property’s special offer and contact the hotels directly to reserve your 2-night stay at the discounted rate.
Valid for stays including Sunday, September 21, 2025. Restrictions may apply and offers are subject to change.
Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 10, 2025 – The 44th Annual Prefontaine Memorial Run will be held in Coos Bay on Saturday, September 20. The competition kicks off with a high school cross country 5K run beginning at 9:45 AM. Prefontaine Memorial Run 10K and 2-mile fun run begins at 10:05 AM starting at the corner of 4th and Anderson in downtown Coos Bay.
The 2025 Prefontaine Memorial Run will highlight the participation of a High School boys’ cross-country team from Tauranga, on the North Island of New Zealand, a country well-known for its distance running prodigies and strong running culture.
Participants can register online at www.prefontainerun.net until midnight on Tuesday, September 16. On-site registration and packet pick-up will be held at St. Monica Catholic Church Parish Hall, 357 S. 6th in Coos Bay on Friday from 4-6 PM and Saturday morning from 8-9:30 AM. Entry fee for participants in the open 10K and 2-mile fun run, ages 19 & older is $45 through September 16 and $55 thereafter. For runners 18 and under running in the 10K or 2-mile fun run, the race fee is $25. Every entrant who completes the race will receive a participation medal commemorating the 50th year since Pre’s passing.
For runners who wish to participate in the Prefontaine Memorial Run, but are unable to travel to Coos Bay on race day, we are adding the option of a virtual run. Entry fee is $50, which will include a race shirt (no exchanges), race bib and a commemorative participation medal. Virtual registration will close on September 5th.
For the first time, the Prefontaine Memorial Run will pay prize money. Equal prize money will be awarded to the top three male and female finishers in the 10K race only, based on official gun time.
- 1st Place: $500
- 2nd Place: $300
- 3rd Place: $200
For anyone interested in seeing the Marshfield Campus, Principal Eli Ashton has graciously agreed to lead a campus tour starting at 1:00 P.M. on race day. Participants will meet at the front entrance of the Main Building.
Area residents should be aware that the entire race route will be closed to vehicular traffic from 9:30 AM to approximately 11:15 am. This includes Anderson Street from Broadway to 7th, Central Avenue from the Dairy Queen to Ocean Boulevard and Ocean Boulevard to Shore Pines Mobile Home Park. Also, 10th Street from Central Avenue to Elrod and 9th Street from Elrod to the Pirate Stadium will be closed. Area residents are encouraged to participate by coming out to the race course to encourage the runners.
ODOT will be closing U.S. Hwy101 from 9 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 19, to late Sunday night, Sept. 21 to replace a failing culvert under U.S. 101 at Bearhead Mountain Lane, about six miles south of Bandon. Participants coming from south of this construction site will need to make alternate travel plans to reach Coos Bay and return home after the run.
The Prefontaine Run is held under the direction of the Prefontaine Foundation with community-based support provided by sponsorships or donations from Tower Ford, Pacific Properties, Banner Bank, Advanced Health, Farr’s Hardware, Wild Coast Running Company, Bigfoot Beverages, South Coast Family Dentistry, Nasburg Huggins Insurance Agency, Epuerto, and Nike.
New Zealand’s Tauranga Boys’ Cross-Country Team to Compete in Next Year’s Prefontaine Memorial Run
The 2025 Prefontaine Memorial Run will highlight the participation of a High School boys’ cross-country team from Tauranga, on the North Island of New Zealand, a country well-known for its distance running prodigies and strong running culture.
According to the team’s coach, Adam Garner, the team of 20 from the Tauranga Boy’s College has established itself as a force in New Zealand athletics. The team achieved remarkable success in 2024, sweeping the BOPSS, AwiBOPSS, and Super 8 Championships, and further solidified their dominance at the New Zealand Secondary Schools Championships. The Year 9 and Senior 6-man teams claimed gold medals, adding to the team’s impressive year.
“As the team looks ahead to competing at the Prefontaine Memorial Cross Country in Coos Bay, they aim to continue showcasing the strength and depth of New Zealand cross country, bringing their determination to the international stage,” Garner states.
The team is very excited to be heading to our part of the world, and we are looking forward to their visit.
Pre Memorial Run Video
Prefontaine Partners
We hope you will join us in thanking these businesses as they work to forward the legacy of Steve Prefontaine in our South Coast community.
