• 1979 Boston Runner
      • RE: So then, how did Bill Rodgers do this in 1979???? 4/14/2018 6:19PM - in reply to Bill is Still the Man!
      • 1979 Boston Runner
      • I ran that day. Headwind indeed, cold and wet, we just ran back then no matter Mother Nature threw at us. Bill was incredible that day in those conditions, 4:56 per mile!
    • RI red
      • RE: So then, how did Bill Rodgers do this in 1979???? 4/14/2018 6:37PM - in reply to 1979 Boston Runner
      • RI red
      • 1979 Boston Runner wrote:

        I ran that day. Headwind indeed, cold and wet, we just ran back then no matter Mother Nature threw at us. Bill was incredible that day in those conditions, 4:56 per mile!

        Also ran that day. I don't remember the wind being an issue. Cold and wet wasn't bad at all=PR day. After the race in the garage was another matter=way too cold, especially without dry clothes.
    • KudzuRunner
      registered
      • RE: So then, how did Bill Rodgers do this in 1979???? 4/14/2018 6:48PM - in reply to RI red
      • KudzuRunner
        registered
      • Damn. Thanks for that. I graduated college that year.

        Somebody not alive in those years might imagine, thanks to the footage, that we lived our lives in some premodern black-and-white world.

        Noooooooooooooo. Definitely not. We were full color all the way. Don't be fooled by this particular representation of "the running world circa 1979."
    • More than a Feeling (Boston)
      • RE: So then, how did Bill Rodgers do this in 1979???? 4/14/2018 6:58PM - in reply to RI red
      • More than a Feeling (Boston)
      • RI red wrote:

        1979 Boston Runner wrote:

        I ran that day. Headwind indeed, cold and wet, we just ran back then no matter Mother Nature threw at us. Bill was incredible that day in those conditions, 4:56 per mile!

        Also ran that day. I don't remember the wind being an issue. Cold and wet wasn't bad at all=PR day. After the race in the garage was another matter=way too cold, especially without dry clothes.

        Yeah, I ran too. There was surely a headwind and you can hear Larry talk about it on the video. I was 19, which you had to be back then and pr'd as well, but they conditions were not ideal as the cold rain easily cramps up the legs. It could have been worse, but it could have been better. As the OP said, we just ran!
    • Boston Whaler
      • RE: So then, how did Bill Rodgers do this in 1979???? 4/14/2018 7:05PM - in reply to More than a Feeling (Boston)
      • Boston Whaler
      • Bill trained through those nasty winters his whole career and loved this type of weather for racing. It was pretty much perfect for him.
    • TVC15.
      • RE: So then, how did Bill Rodgers do this in 1979???? 4/14/2018 7:12PM - in reply to Boston Whaler
      • TVC15.
      • Mr. Rodgers loved the colder weather for racing.
        Interestingly enough, he once said that it would be a plus for him if the Olympic Marathon was part of the Winter Olympic Games instead of the Summer Olympic Games.
    • Bill is Still the Man!
      • RE: So then, how did Bill Rodgers do this in 1979???? 4/14/2018 7:35PM - in reply to TVC15.
      • Bill is Still the Man!
      • TVC15. wrote:

        Mr. Rodgers loved the colder weather for racing.
        Interestingly enough, he once said that it would be a plus for him if the Olympic Marathon was part of the Winter Olympic Games instead of the Summer Olympic Games.

        I agree. I was being slightly sarcastic because of the weather that day and the way everyone is currently complaining about Monday before it even gets here.

        If there's a slight headwind without hurricane type gusts, just race and let the cards fall where they fall.

        I was there in 1982 as well, it was "hot feeling" to many who had came from a solid cold and snowy winter in the midwest. I was sun burned as there wasn't a cloud in the sky.
    • Tomas
      • RE: So then, how did Bill Rodgers do this in 1979???? 4/14/2018 8:19PM - in reply to Bill is Still the Man!
      • Tomas
      • Concur. Bill Rodgers ran his heart out regardless of the conditions. Runners Today, not so much---always an excuse.
    • rainrunner
      registered
      • RE: So then, how did Bill Rodgers do this in 1979???? 4/14/2018 9:07PM - in reply to Tomas
      • rainrunner
        registered
      • Thanks for that clip! I ran Boston that year, too. My second marathon. I didn't remember what the weather was like at all. If it was really bad I would think I would remember that.
    • vivalarepublica
      registered
      • RE: So then, how did Bill Rodgers do this in 1979???? 4/14/2018 9:12PM - in reply to Bill is Still the Man!
      • vivalarepublica
        registered
      • Yea, runners were so much tougher those days! The good ole days! When everything was better and nobody made excuses!
    • hp
      • RE: So then, how did Bill Rodgers do this in 1979???? 4/14/2018 9:19PM - in reply to vivalarepublica
      • hp
      • Yup, ran my first marathon there that day, conditions were not a consideration, never thought about it.
    • Jefe in the CO
      registered
      • RE: So then, how did Bill Rodgers do this in 1979???? 4/14/2018 11:27PM - in reply to vivalarepublica
      • Jefe in the CO
        registered
      • vivalarepublica wrote:

        Yea, runners were so much tougher those days! The good ole days! When everything was better and nobody made excuses!

        We were tougher. Does a young gun like you doubt that?
    • Bob Sacamano the fake one
      • RE: So then, how did Bill Rodgers do this in 1979???? 4/15/2018 2:22AM - in reply to Tomas
      • Bob Sacamano the fake one
      • Tomas wrote:

        Concur. Bill Rodgers ran his heart out regardless of the conditions. Runners Today, not so much---always an excuse.

        Correct. Rodgers wasn't a pampered brat. He stuck his nose in there and competed, even when conditions weren't ideal. The fact that he raced a lot helped, too - he was accustomed to giving his all in any conditions. Today's runners are scared to race unless everything is perfect.
    • Eugene the Careful A
      registered
      • RE: So then, how did Bill Rodgers do this in 1979???? 4/15/2018 5:47AM - in reply to Bill is Still the Man!
      • Eugene the Careful A
        registered
      • At the time of the 1979 Boston Marathon, I was 11, almost 12. My dad qualified for Boston that year and my family made the trip up to Massachusetts to catch the race - my mom grew up in southern Mass near Providence, RI, so we stayed with my grandparents. Two days before the race, I came down with a wicked stomach flu and I was unable to join everyone along the course to watch my dad race. Instead, I spent the day in my grandpa's favorite recliner, alternately switching between the race coverage and watching my (then) beloved Red Sox lose to the Indians. I remember that, on balance, I was far happier in the warm comfort of my grandparents den than my two older brothers were out in the rain and chill along the racecourse, despite the stomach flu.
    • Wikid pissah
      • RE: So then, how did Bill Rodgers do this in 1979???? 4/15/2018 7:47AM - in reply to hp
      • Wikid pissah
      • I watched the race that day...inspired me to become competive runner.

        Eventually set a hs record and hit sub 9:00 3km many times

        Bill
        Is the man...

        Seko right behind him.

        Great race
    • 2:09:27!
      • RE: So then, how did Bill Rodgers do this in 1979???? 4/15/2018 8:54AM - in reply to hp
      • 2:09:27!
      • Yep, Rawson mentions the headwind more than once in the video. It wasn't 25 mph, but it was surely a headwind.

        Rodgers had let Tom get away as he was running too fast in those conditions too early into the race, yet Rodgers was still on a great pace. Garry eventually caught him past 1/2 way.

        At 17.5 miles, Bjorklund was a full minute behind Bill's record pace of 1975. Bill and Seko picked off Bjorklund at the base of the 2nd hill.

        Bill broke away and flew down the hills making up time and ending up at 4:56 pace. Bill ran the last 2 miles in a reported 09:20 that day.

        The conditions were not terrible, but they were far from ideal. Had they been better, Bill would have been ahead of Garry at 17.5, not behind.

        Bill Rodgers indeed just went out a raced regardless of the conditions.