This past Monday, Linda Prefontaine, sister of the legendary and late great runner Steve Prefontaine, returned to Blossom Gulch Elementary School, to fulfill a promise made to the students a year ago. 

According to the Oregon Daily Emerald, an author by the name of Bree Donovan from New Jersey was inspired to write a children's book about the track legend and got in touch with Steve's sister, Linda, to learn more about him as a man and an athlete and foremost, to get the blessing from the Prefontaine family to write the book. She told the family she wanted to donate the proceeds to a charity of their choice. Linda asked that the proceeds go to their former elementary school, Blossum Gulch. The book is titled "Steve Prefontaine: Rocketman" of which the book royalties will pay for music, arts and athletic programs at the school.

So far, book sales have generated enough money for a $3,892 donation to the school. You can purchase the book through an independent company called Lulu found on line at Lulu.com.

Just last year I represented a client buying a home in the historic Marshfield district of Coos Bay. Heather and I were meeting at her soon-to-be new home, an adorable 1924 vintage bungalow to go over some details of the sale, when she shared with me that she had just learned that Steve Prefontaine grew up in a little house just around the corner on Elrod Street, maybe a half a block away. I had heard that he was an inspiration to runners in Eugene Oregon, but had no idea he was born and raised in Coos Bay. I remember looking down the streets and sidewalks of this old neighborhood and all the early 1900's era homes a little differently that day.

His child hood home is only 2 blocks from the Marshfield High School and track where "Pre" first began cross country running and overall set 19 National High School Track records during his tenure there (1966 - 1969). The Pete Susick Stadium at Marshfield high school dedicated their track in 2001 in his honor by appropriately naming it "The Steve Prefontaine Track". Each year, on the 3rd Saturday of September, over 1000 runners engage in the Prefontaine Memorial Run, a 10k run honoring his accomplishments that is laid along his former running training grounds and ends in a run past his child hood home on Elrod up to the high school stadium in Coos Bay.

Prefontaine died at the early age of 24 in a car crash just before he was suppose to compete in the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. He was the inspiration of the "running boom" of the 1970's and his death was said to have been the "End of an Era" by the Eugene Register Guard . His college coach at the University of Oregon, Bill Bowerman, co-founded the 1964 Blue Ribbon Sports, later known as Nike shoe company. Click here to WATCH THE NIKE 30TH MEMORIAL VIDEO.

You can learn more about Steve Prefontaine at the Coos Bay Visitor Center and Coos Art Museum in Coos Bay.