Steve Prefontaine is a runner who showed the world what it meant to give 100-percent. Find out how.
What I hate about going to the mall are the perfume girls. They always seem to be huddle around the same spot behind the perfume counter gossiping, chatting and looking their noses down on people who actually want to buy perfume. Yet, the biggest thing that upsets me is the fact that I don't think they are giving me their full effort. Their service feels like sloppy seconds and it makes me angry. I just want to get help from a perfume girl who is ready to give 100-percent. Is that too much to ask?
Giving 100-percent definitely means different things to different people. For instance, for a sleek, fit runner, giving 100-percent might mean running five miles every day. However, on the other hand, for a heavy, unfit runner, giving 100-percent might mean running one mile every day. Either way, each individual is giving his full effort. He's doing his best. This is what turns a person into a great athlete and why runner Steve Prefontaine excelled during his day.
What I love about Steve Prefontaine is that no matter what situations he faced in his running career, he gave 100-percent. The first glimpse you get of his drive was in 1966 when he was a freshman at Marshfield High School in Coos Bay, Ore. It was during this time that he failed to qualify for the Oregon State Meet and spent the next two years building up his skills and body until he finally was able to qualify in 1969. The end result was Prefontaine setting several national high school records. It was a finale he would have never seen without all of his hard work.
Unfortunately, Steve Prefontaine died at age 24 in a car crash. Yet, his legacy still lives on. "Pre's Rock" is a memorial boulder set up for this runner where fans can go to in remembrance of him. "Pre's Rock" is a reminder of the excellence of his running career and the fact that he gave 100-percent. It is a mentality that we call can use in our daily life whether we apply it to running, school or spraying perfume on a potential customer at the mall. The bottom line is this: if you want 100-percent out of life, you must give 100-percent to your life. It's a math equation that equals out every time.
