1972: Gary Kurtz email

Hi Steve,

It’s easy to understand why the photo that you took of Dellinger, Jim Ryun, Phil, and Pre is very dear to you. It unknowingly set the stage for so much of your life.

 

It’s been a long time since we’ve talked. I worked for NIKE just over twenty years, which doesn’t compare to your forty-plus years.

1972: Bill Landers letter

My UO Freshman Year

Steve Bence: 1971 Zaragoza HS, Spain Senior Year (left) ... 1972 UO Freshman Year (right)

In June 1971 I graduated from Zaragoza American High School in Spain. I was an 800/1500 meter runner. Three months later I arrived at the University of Oregon to start my college career. Bill Bowerman and Bill Dellinger coached a very talented group of teammates which included my soon-to-be friend, Steve Prefontaine.

Below is a short story, including workouts, of how I went from a 1:55 high school half-miler to a 1:47 all-American during my UO freshman year.

My Hood to Coast Experiences

I'm a runner

I still call myself a runner even though I haven't been able to run for almost 20 years. My knees are shot.

1972 Olympic Trials 800 meters  (I'm the Oregon half-miler on the left)
Dave Wottle (in the hat) set a world record at the Trials and won the 1972 Olympic gold medal

However my Hood to Coast experiences have taught me that running is more than just a physical activity. Running is also a mindset which has been an important thread throughout my life.

What follows are my favorite Hood to Coast experiences and lessons.

Early Handmade Nike spikes

Early hand-make spikes   Uppers made in Japan   Shoes assembled in Oregon   About 1974

For years I thought Bowerman made these spikes.

Nike's Hood to Coast History

[Updated June 2018] Hood to Coast started in 1982.  This is the 37th year.

Nike has entered at least one team every year since 1983.  There have probably been at least 20,000 Nike employees and affiliates from around the world who have participated over the years.  Hood to Coast Nike to its running heritage and is in our own backyard.

Tarahumara is the only Nike team to participate every one of those years and has only lost their division twice; in 1987 and 2006.  A victory this year will be 33rd time.

Nike holds almost half of the division records (7 of 16) including the overall 1995 Mambu Baddu record which converts to 4:51 per mile.

Nike also holds the longest standing division record set by Nike Team Swoosh in 1992.

About me, I've run or walked 28 times: 14 Nike Hood to Coast teams and 14 Nike Portland to Coast teams.  17 of those years I was on a team that won its division.  (can anyone beat that?)

  1985-1995:  Tarahumara, Corporate Mixed.  Won 10 of 11 years.
  1996-2001:  Limp Swooshes, Men's Masters.  I couldn't run 3 years.
  2002-2005:  T-Wrecks, Mixed Masters Walking.
  2006-2015:  T-Wrecks, Mixed Super Masters Walking.  Won 7 of  9 years.

Now some Nike HTC history.  My history-keeping fell off in recent years.

Nike's first Hood to Coast team, 1983 Tarahumara

AUSTIN MEEK

The Last Amateurs

The track stars of the 1970s fought to get today’s athletes paid

Kenny Moore visits Bill Bowerman's bronze at Hayward Field in 2006 (Chris Pietsch/The Register Guard)

Gerald Ford, then vice president of the United States, penned a 5,000-word essay for Sports Illustrated in 1974 outlining his views on various subjects of the day.

2013 Christmans

(l-r) Kelly, Steve, Cory, Santa, Lynn, and Mary

Lynn was Santa's helper at the mall again this year.  We got 5 of the 7 Oregon Bences in the picture.

UO Proposes Sports Product Management Program

Allan Brettman (Oregonian) wrote an article about the proposed UO Sports Product Management Program:  Link to the Oregonian article

I'm on the advisory board and offered to be an Adjunct Professor for the program which is proposed to start Fall 2015.

The full text of the article is below.  I highlighted where I was quoted.

Steve Prefontaine's Legacy

Doug Williams of ESPN Endurance interviewed me and then quoted me in an article entitled Legacy of Prefontaine still lives on

Pre's Rock during 2013 NCAA championships

A woman asked for a picture with me at Pre's Rock.

The Gonzalez family was in Eugene to watch the NCAA track & field championships.  They happened to be at Pre's Rock when I spoke to Grant Hanson's legal team.  I didn't get her name but received this picture and the following email.

Free to Run movie trailer

I have been helping as I can on the creation of this movie due out in 2014.

Memories of Steve Prefontaine

I took a group to Pre's Rock the day before the 2013 Prefontaine Classic.  Rhoda Krause, a reporter for KMTR at the time, had a camera and asked to do a quick interview.  The story aired that evening and Rhoda wrote the following article.

An interview

Steve Bence Interview

Steve Bence was a middle distance runner for the University of Oregon in the early 1970s. He served as a consultant for the film Without Limits, giving background on the Eugene running culture and Steve Prefontaine. One summer during college he traveled to Europe and ran for money under the table, a forbidden practice in those days of amateurism (even now it would probably affect his status as a collegiate athlete). This is the main subject of the interview. At the time of the interview Bence worked for Nike. I came across Bence while doing research on the Florida Track Club. (Here is his webpage about Pre, Eugene, and running.) I sat down with Steve in the summer of 2001 when I was living in Portland, Oregon.

June 9, 2001

Dale Winling interviewing Steve Bence, former middle distance runner for Oregon, at a Starbucks in Beaverton, OR.