i am running the lakefront marathon in milwaukee tomorrow and as part of the expo bill rodgers is here. he has a booth and is selling a couple books, "the idiots guide to running" which he co-wrote with scott douglas, posters and so forth. there was a also some info on the barbados marathon. not sure what that was about. he is speaking a couple times. i will not be around to see him speak, but he did do a "fun run" this morning.
bill looks very much like he did in 1979 when he won boston. see:
a little older, but skinny and the hair and face are very much the same.
he showed up wearing asics shoes, and a 2007 disney marathon shirt. he was also wearing a "make it happen" bracelet that was being sold to raise money for jenny crain. these are red and like the "live strong" lance armstrong ones. for those that dont know jenny crain is from milwaukee.
he spent a good amount of time introducing himself to anyone who came up, asked if they were doing the marathon or the relay. told people he was running the relay. he is running the last leg of the relay - about 10k.
he was really very nice and easy to talk to. people took turns approaching him and he answered all the questions people had.
about 17 people went for a 37 minute run to the lake and down to the calatrava art museum. i figure it was only about 3 miles. it was a very slow pace.
i spoke with him a little, but mostly listened to him talk to others.
some of what he had to say:
on letsrun.com:
he said he is familiar with the site and when asked about the site said "its great, they (meaning the jos) are great fans of the sport."
he also said he has posted here a few times, and has done so under his real name.
on marion jones:
its very "interesting." he made mention that everyone makes mistakes and seemed to have a much more forgiving attitude than most people here. he did wonder what would happen with barry bonds. i get the impression he thinks there is a lot more to come. he gave no specifics.
there was also a brief mention about peds in football and baseball, but i do not recall exactly what was said. i think it was along the lines that running is at least doing something, he did say, that in those sports it was a "joke" as far as testing and so forth.
during the the time we "ran" and the time i heard him speaking before and after the run, i never heard him say a negative word about anyone or anything.
again, he never uttered a negative word about anyone - not barry or marion. everything he says tends to be positive and supporting.
on orthotics:
he does not seem to be a big believer in them.
on his running marathons now:
he does not seem to run them anymore.
on his running races:
he runs about 30 a year and seems to enjoy running half marathons.
on his current miles per week:
about 50.
he was very accommodating and happy to listen to people tell him things i am sure he has heard a million times before. he seemed very encouraging of new runners and never complained or acted annoyed when people asked to have their picture taken by him or for him to sign their shirts...
he looks to be in good shape, he has the legs of a runner, thin, but muscular, well defined.
he seems to be a very positive person, very up beat. he seems like a nice guy.
the thing that i kept thinking as we ran south on the bike path along lake michigan was about the runners who passed us going north. i wondered, what they would do if they knew they were running by bill rodgers, would they turn around and run with us?
i was happy i went.
for the original - should i go thread -
http://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?thread=2151066
so if you ever get a chance to go for a fun run with him - take it.