Nike shoes worn by legendary Oregon runner Steve Prefontaine going up for auction

A well-worn piece of distance running history is going up for auction this week, providing a window into a transformative period for the sport and its most revered icon.

Nike Kenya Red sneakers, worn by the late

Steve Prefontaine

, will be

auctioned off by New York broker Sotheby’s

beginning Friday. The shoes were modified by coach Bill Bowerman with an early version of his “waffle soles” on the heel, and have been preserved by the family of Prefontaine’s former girlfriend for nearly 50 years since his untimely death.

The shoes are estimated to fetch $100,000-$150,000 at auction, but the final price could go well beyond that.

Michael Marckx idolized “Pre,” and received the shoes at 10 years old as a gift from his aunt Mary, who dated Prefontaine over multiple years at University of Oregon. Marckx has kept them safe and in their original condition for five decades since.

Authentication before putting the shoes up for auction has been a lengthy process, he said, but one he and his aunt are embarking on together.

“There is a rich, familial connection to Pre, which is embodied in these shoes,” Marckx told The Oregonian/OregonLive. “After Pre died, we were devastated. My aunt didn’t know what to do with all the cool stuff that he had left at her pad, except for the shoes. Her mom told her, ‘You have to send those down to Michael. He’s the only one in the family with a running fetish.’ I remember the day they arrived, and I’ve been preserving them ever since.”

Marckx initially kept the shoes in plastic bags in his closet, protected from the elements, and as he got older put them on display in a plexiglass case in his home. They still have the original laces, and stitching along the toe box that Marckx posits is a result of Prefontaine’s well-documented frustration with how that area of the shoe was designed.

Still, authenticators believe Prefontaine wore the shoes for training and potentially competition, including in a photo from 1973 of Prefontaine posing with Jesse Owens.

“When you look at the shoes, it’s just amazing to think that he got those in ’73, and they may have been the first prototype that Bowerman had made for him,” Marcx said. “And he wore them up until near his passing, which is a few years of running in those shoes. You can see the distress, the wear and tear.”

From 10 years old on, Marcx became obsessed with running, inspired like millions of others by Prefontaine’s enduring spirit. He said he was lucky enough to know Prefontaine personally as well.

“Pre would come and race at UCLA and other invitationals, and I got to see him race and he’d stay at our house since he was traveling on a budget,” Marckx said. “I just fell in love with the guy and thought he was the coolest thing ever. We called him Uncle Steve.”

The first time Marckx ran at his local high school’s track, it was with Prefontaine. Pre wanted to do some intervals, and Marckx’s dad timed it with a stopwatch. He tried to keep up with him for 100 yards, and saw up close the dedication a prodigy like Prefontaine put toward training.

Marckx ran his first marathon when he was 12, and pursued a career in triathlon. Athletics have always been part of his life, but whatever professional pursuit he chose, Prefontaine’s mindset was adopted.

“It’s more psychological for me in terms of approach to life. The way Pre ran and lived his life left an early imprint on me,” Marckx said. “I kept that M.O. when it came to training and life, which is to go hard, do your best and give it your all. 50 years later, I still approach life with that same vigor and kind of reckless abandon, and the shoes are symbolic of that.”

—


Ryan Clarke


covers college sports for The Oregonian/OregonLive. Reach him at RClarke@Oregonian.com or on Twitter/X:


@RyanTClarke


. Find him on Bluesky:


@ryantclarke.bsky.social


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