Training video of Bill Rodgers from the 70s

KudzuRunner wrote:

Duck's Back wrote:

It is Instructive to note Bill's nonchalance with his poor Boston performance. This set the stage for his rebounding into the history books with subsequent Boston and NYCM victories. Learn from your bad races, but don't let them weigh you down.

The personality he presents is quite striking. In some ways it's very feminine--feline, shape-shifting, "soft," non-judgmental. The opposite of a type-A personality, or a Tiger Mom. Androgynous, but in a good way. There's a lesson here, absolutely. Several lessons.

But yes: it's worth thinking hard about how easily he took that loss. His version of (white) American masculinity, mid-70s style, makes him almost incomprehensible now, so at odds is it with where we have gone and what we have become.

Fantastic piece of video.

I'm not seeing the androgynous, but it's definitely an earlier form of masculinity--quiet and aloof.

On another side, why did he and his wife divorce so soon after this video?

Michiganian wrote:

Tanglebox wrote:

Anybody?!? There's also a documentary about the 1976 Olympic Marathon Trials from Eugene. Can't find it anywhere. There's a beautiful and poetic side-shot sequence of Shorter and Rodgers running together. Don Kardong takes third and takes a plunge (on purpose) into the steeplechase water.

Here ya go:)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIj1xrCUsYA

Awesome, New England road racing legend Larry Olsen is in the 76' trials race, goes by at about the 8:00 mark.

KudzuRunner wrote:

Duck's Back wrote:

It is Instructive to note Bill's nonchalance with his poor Boston performance. This set the stage for his rebounding into the history books with subsequent Boston and NYCM victories. Learn from your bad races, but don't let them weigh you down.

The personality he presents is quite striking. In some ways it's very feminine--feline, shape-shifting, "soft," non-judgmental. The opposite of a type-A personality, or a Tiger Mom. Androgynous, but in a good way. There's a lesson here, absolutely. Several lessons.

But yes: it's worth thinking hard about how easily he took that loss. His version of (white) American masculinity, mid-70s style, makes him almost incomprehensible now, so at odds is it with where we have gone and what we have become.

Fantastic piece of video.

What's the bad way of being Androgynous?

"I don't have my card, but I'm number 4!"

That whole thing is gold. I started running at age 11 in 1978. So I was aware of all these things that were happening in the preceding years, but there was no way you could ever see much of it, unless you went to the races. Even then you would just see a sliver of it compared to what you see now through TV or the internet.

Thanks for posting it.

That coach in the plaid suit at the start sucked. Giving Boston Billy 4 x 1 Mile in 5:00? Bill was like jogging around like, "this is my damn marathon pace for 26 miles" what a freaking waste of time. No wonder he bombed the Olympics and DNF that Boston Marathon. Thankfully he figured it out for himself.

lkj wrote:

That coach in the plaid suit at the start sucked. Giving Boston Billy 4 x 1 Mile in 5:00? Bill was like jogging around like, "this is my damn marathon pace for 26 miles" what a freaking waste of time. No wonder he bombed the Olympics and DNF that Boston Marathon. Thankfully he figured it out for himself.

Is this a troll? That's Bill Squires, one of the greatest coaches of all-time, if not the greatest. Bill let the heat get to his head and didn't train for it or race right in it- that's why he sucked.

the real bill wrote:

lkj wrote:

That coach in the plaid suit at the start sucked. Giving Boston Billy 4 x 1 Mile in 5:00? Bill was like jogging around like, "this is my damn marathon pace for 26 miles" what a freaking waste of time. No wonder he bombed the Olympics and DNF that Boston Marathon. Thankfully he figured it out for himself.

Is this a troll? That's Bill Squires, one of the greatest coaches of all-time, if not the greatest. Bill let the heat get to his head and didn't train for it or race right in it- that's why he sucked.

It has to be a troll considering Bill Rodgers won in 1975 in a time of 2:09:55. 1975 was two years before this video for the poster above.

lkj wrote:

That coach in the plaid suit at the start sucked. Giving Boston Billy 4 x 1 Mile in 5:00? Bill was like jogging around like, "this is my damn marathon pace for 26 miles" what a freaking waste of time. No wonder he bombed the Olympics and DNF that Boston Marathon. Thankfully he figured it out for himself.

That was their last workout before the Boston Marathon on the following Monday, just days away. You gain ZERO fitness by running all out for those repeats just days before a marathon (less than a week). Listen to what he says at the beginning and it will surely make more sense;)

Michiganian wrote:

lkj wrote:

That coach in the plaid suit at the start sucked. Giving Boston Billy 4 x 1 Mile in 5:00? Bill was like jogging around like, "this is my damn marathon pace for 26 miles" what a freaking waste of time. No wonder he bombed the Olympics and DNF that Boston Marathon. Thankfully he figured it out for himself.

That was their last workout before the Boston Marathon on the following Monday, just days away. You gain ZERO fitness by running all out for those repeats just days before a marathon (less than a week). Listen to what he says at the beginning and it will surely make more sense;)

Guys, cut it out. Stop responding to obvious trolling!

Squires does suck in the scheme of things - a talent like Rodgers should have run 2:06:55, not 2:09:55.

The Overexplainer wrote:

"I don't have my card, but I'm number 4!"

That whole thing is gold. I started running at age 11 in 1978. So I was aware of all these things that were happening in the preceding years, but there was no way you could ever see much of it, unless you went to the races. Even then you would just see a sliver of it compared to what you see now through TV or the internet.

Thanks for posting it.

At about 17:45, I love where at the finish line, Ellen Rodgers asks an official coming out of the trailer if he knew what happened to her husband, Bill Rodgers, if they picked him up or where he is, and the official responds "oh, is he one of the runners?".

Just wow... wrote:

The Overexplainer wrote:

"I don't have my card, but I'm number 4!"

That whole thing is gold. I started running at age 11 in 1978. So I was aware of all these things that were happening in the preceding years, but there was no way you could ever see much of it, unless you went to the races. Even then you would just see a sliver of it compared to what you see now through TV or the internet.

Thanks for posting it.

At about 17:45, I love where at the finish line, Ellen Rodgers asks an official coming out of the trailer if he knew what happened to her husband, Bill Rodgers, if they picked him up or where he is, and the official responds "oh, is he one of the runners?".

I thought that was interesting, too. I guess one can hope that he was delivering a pizza, or something, and wasn’t an official !! 1977 Boston Marathon, and you don’t know who Bill Rodgers is ?!?!

Just wow... wrote:

At about 17:45, I love where at the finish line, Ellen Rodgers asks an official coming out of the trailer if he knew what happened to her husband, Bill Rodgers, if they picked him up or where he is, and the official responds "oh, is he one of the runners?".

What was it about the guy which made you think he was an official? A guess is that he was part of the pickup units along the way.

lkjlk wrote:

Squires does suck in the scheme of things - a talent like Rodgers should have run 2:06:55, not 2:09:55.

But no one was running behind five pacemakers on flat time-trial courses back in the day.

The Fokus wrote:

Just wow... wrote:

At about 17:45, I love where at the finish line, Ellen Rodgers asks an official coming out of the trailer if he knew what happened to her husband, Bill Rodgers, if they picked him up or where he is, and the official responds "oh, is he one of the runners?".

What was it about the guy which made you think he was an official? A guess is that he was part of the pickup units along the way.

Whatever his role, just a surprising exchange given the context of the situation.

malmo wrote:

lkjlk wrote:

Squires does suck in the scheme of things - a talent like Rodgers should have run 2:06:55, not 2:09:55.

But no one was running behind five pacemakers on flat time-trial courses back in the day.

Bill ran to win.

I saw an interview where Rodgers said he never retired. He just stopped being competitive. On that note, anyone know what happened to Rogers from 1990 to 1992?

1990 Boston: 2:20:26

1992 Boston: 2:50:07

2:20 is very fast for his age at the time. He never was fast again. Why?

Father Time Question wrote:

I saw an interview where Rodgers said he never retired. He just stopped being competitive. On that note, anyone know what happened to Rogers from 1990 to 1992?

1990 Boston: 2:20:26

1992 Boston: 2:50:07

2:20 is very fast for his age at the time. He never was fast again. Why?

I'd imagine he didn't adjust his training to his age. Similar to what happened to Mark Nenow at the end of his career.