In June 1980 America’s best distance runners met in one of the most memorable road races any of them would ever run, the Cascade Run Off in Portland, Oregon. What made the race a pivotal event in the history was what happened at the awards ceremony. The top finishers openly accepted prize money totalling $50,000, defiantly risking their Olympic eligibility, the rebel racers triggered a series of events that ultimately ended “shamateur - ism” in distance running. The poster for the event featured a cryptic painting by Scott McIntire of a Japanese Geisha timing a runner beneath the peak of a mountain.
