Prefontaine Memorial Run
- September 20th 2025
- 10:00 AM (PST)
International Track Star
Running Legend
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 September and run where Pre’s legend began.
New Zealand’s Tauranga Boys’ Cross-Country Team to Compete in Next Year’s Prefontaine Memorial Run
Next year’s 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 this year, 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.
The Prefontaine Memorial Run has been designated as the 2023 RRCA National Championship 10K Race.
