Interview - Greg Meyer, 1983 Boston Marathon champion

More Greg:

THE RUNNER; MEYER'S BEST IN STORE? DON'T SELL HIM SHORT

Joe Concannon Globe Staff. Boston Globe (pre-1997 Fulltext). Boston, Mass.: Apr 17, 1983. pg. 1

Abstract (Summary)

"He's really run so great the last six months. [Greg Meyer]'s been so consistent. He's had few failures. After Alberto Salazar, I believe Greg's the best all- around distance runner in the country. From 10k up to marathon. He's not even that far behind Al. He was only 10 seconds back in the 10k. He also races a lot more than Al, so that knocks him back, too. Greg's got quality and quantity. More quantity than Alberto."

Bill Squires, who has worked with Meyer intermittently since those days, has also coached [Bill Rodgers], Salazar and [Randy Thomas]. He's been working intensely with Meyer since the latter stages of 1982. Listen to Squires, 1983:

Meyer's name still is not on everybody's household list of marathon names. He's not mentioned in the same reverent breaths with Rodgers, Salazar and Shorter. He's still, to this degree, the new kid on the block out of the Midwest. This could all change tomorrow, however, when Greg Meyer steps outfrom Hopkinton over the miles of roadway he knows so well, this restless expatriate from Michigan who's become a such a noble part of Boston's rich running culture.

Full Text (1488 words)

They ran through the traffic patterns in Cleveland Circle on this afternoon just over two weeks ago, finishing up a long training run in the dying days of March. Bill Rodgers, Randy Thomas, Greg Meyer. The Greater Boston Track Club's Big Three out of a gentler time, when Rodgers was The King andMeyer was the new kid out of the Midwest searching for identity on the roads.

"I won't be the new gun coming out of the Midwest with a shot at the established guns," he had said on a November afternoon in a Cleveland Circle restaurant in 1978. "I'm here." He'd been invited by Rodgers to work in his store, a restless talent with a restless obsession to become one of America's best runners. Listen to Rodgers, 1983:

"He's really run so great the last six months. Greg's been so consistent. He's had few failures. After Alberto Salazar, I believe Greg's the best all- around distance runner in the country. From 10k up to marathon. He's not even that far behind Al. He was only 10 seconds back in the 10k. He also races a lot more than Al, so that knocks him back, too. Greg's got quality and quantity. More quantity than Alberto."

Bill Squires, who has worked with Meyer intermittently since those days, has also coached Rodgers, Salazar and Thomas. He's been working intensely with Meyer since the latter stages of 1982. Listen to Squires, 1983:

"He's like a Pete Rose - he'll get his hits. But he'll hit the home run, too. I'm trying to make him a man for all seasons. The main thing I do with all athletes is to make them quicker and more efficient. All the athletes I've had have been 4:05-4:18 milers. Greg's 4:00. I don't know how low he'll go in track, but a year from now we'll see what Greg Meyer can really run. He's the kind of athlete who should have no problem running a 2:07 marathon."

Meyer, of Grand Rapids, Mich., the University of Michigan and the Brooks Racing Team, is just about everybody's favorite in the 87th Boston Marathon tomorrow. At 27, it's his seventh marathon. Bearded since late fall when he launched an awesome assault on the tracks and roadways of the country, he will walk to the starting line at noon today in Hopkinton ready to roll.

"I think it's silly when people do pick a favorite," says Meyer. "It's humorous, it's flattering. In another way, it's good from my perspectivebecause I'm going to have people worrying about me. If they think I'm real fit, they're going to have a little anxiety. If they lose 20 minutes of sleep that night thinking about me, then being one of the favorites hasn't been so bad.

"I've been in enough situations in other races where I've been tabbed the favorite. Randy always said this about Boston. It's just another race. You have to look at it as another race. If you make it out to be bigger than that, it'll eat you up. It is. It's just another race. I've trained hard for it. If people want to make me the favorite, that's fine."

The marathon that stamped Meyer as the morning-line favorite for Boston was America's Marathon-Chicago this past Sept. 26, when he raced to a 2:10:59 that tied him with Bob Hodge for 13th on the American list. The credentials surpass the Chicago race, however, and mesh impressively into a pattern of remarkable achievement:

The American 20k record (58:26) in New Haven on Sept. 6. The 10k (28:23) in Bangor on Oct. 31. No. 2 to Salazar on the Track & Field News US road list for '82. Second (28:12) to Salazar's 10k American record in Miami on Jan. 15. Second to Rob deCastella with an American record in the Gasparilla 15k (43:07) on Feb. 6. The impressive Ohme, Japan, 30k win (1:31:05) on Feb. 20. The Cherry Blossom 10-miler course record (46:13) on March 27. The world low in '83 in the 10,000 (27:53) at the Colonial Relays on April 2.

"The Chicago Marathon gave me a lot of confidence; and, coming back five weeks later, the 28:23 gave me the confidence I could maintain that fitness level after a marathon. It was a good year. I ran well. I think my consistency was up there. That's something I've tried to do for the last few years - not have a major disaster.

"I wanted to have a tough schedule at the beginning of the year. I wanted to run a lot of races early. I didn't go to Europe last year. I wanted to get into a sequence of races where I'd be bounced around a lot. I had a pretty rigorous schedule, and it went well for me. I ran OK against Alberto in Miami. I was too content to run pace, instead of trying to win. I don't think I had a bad race against deCastella, but I was beaten by 20 seconds. I focused in on a certain time, and I was wrong. I shouldn't do that again.

"I needed one or two races before Boston just to get my legs underneath me for racing. I went to Cherry Blossom not knowing what to expect. I knew Billy was there, and I knew it was going to be a tough race. I'd done really good strength training, but I hadn't gone to the track very much.

"I was scared. I was lucky enough so things fell into place. I led from the gun. I never felt in trouble. I felt within myself the whole way. I ran the last mile as fast (4:30) as any mile the whole race. I was playing games in my head. I made a stupid mistake and ran a hard fartlek (speed interval) 20-miler with Randy the next day.

"I know I'm fit. I've done the training. My distance efforts have been good. My hard training runs have been better than ever before. My hills haven't been quite as good as Chicago, but I'm running my distance much harder than before Chicago. I guess you can always say you can be in better shape, but I can't say that heading into Boston.

"I think Boston is also an indication of where people are standing for the Olympic Trials. I think people are coming in here as fit as they can be. No one's coming here out of shape. We'll find out how things are shaping up for 1984."

This is Meyer's second Boston. He ran it two years ago, surged to the lead 13 miles into the race and fell apart as he headed through 16 miles in the Newton Hills. He finished 11th in 2:13:07. "I was kidding myself to think I could win this," Meyer said in the Prudential garage that afternoon. "You've got to be in the best shape of your life to win this. If not, this course eats you alive."

"I don't think making a move at that point was a mistake," says Meyer before his second Boston. "I think not having the fitness to back it up was. I didn't have the fitness or the maturity, but I think I've improved a lot in two years. It was a good experience, but it was a bad experience, too. There's that little leeriness in the Boston course. I can read the papers now and everybody says, Well, all right, he learned his lesson in 1981. He's going to sit through the hills.'

"All but two of my 20-milers have been on the course, and they've been hard 20-milers. I start in Wellesley, run through the hills to Cleveland Circle, around the pond and back up through the hills to Wellesley. There's no hill worse on this course than running that hill in Wellesley backward. No hill.

"I've got a few scenarios in mind. If it's a real cruddy day, I'm going to sit. There's no reason for a guy my size (5 feet 9, 146 pounds) to be breaking the wind for these little wispy people. If it's a strong East wind, I'm darned if I'm going to be leading. If it's a hot day, that'll dictate a different strategy. You'll have the Southern boys who'll be all jacked up and ready to go to hurt you early. The weather doesn't bother me as far as winning or losing. All it is is a different way to approach it."

MEYER A RUNAWAY WINNER IN MARATHON'S 3D-FASTEST TIME

Joe Concannon Globe Staff. Boston Globe (pre-1997 Fulltext). Boston, Mass.: Apr 19, 1983. pg. 1

Abstract (Summary)

[Bill Squires], who once worked with [Bill Rodgers] and [Alberto Salazar] in the halcyon days of the Greater Boston TC, is the master at preparing the runner for the course. Salazar (2:08:51), [Dick Beardsley] (2:08:53), [Greg Meyer] and Rodgers (2:09:27) own four of the five fastest American times in Boston.

This would hold true for the next 11 miles, with [Durden] moving 25 yards in front as he went through 14 miles in 1:08:02. Salazar's New York split was 1:08:23. Meyer was never out of contact, stalking his prey and following Squires advice to be patient.

By the time they headed into the second of the four Newton hills, Meyer was off by himself and he was ahead of Salazar's world record at 20 miles - 1:37:11 to 1:37:29. Salazar's 21st mile in New York was 4:46, while Meyer's was 5:22 heading up Heartbreak Hill and the focus was on the win.

Full Text (1410 words)

As Greg Meyer ran through the hills of Newton and headed into the final miles of the 87th Boston Marathon yesterday, he thought only briefly of the world record pace he was on and wound up focusing instead on what it would mean just to win this ancient race.

"The game plan going in here was to win and all I wanted to do was make sure I stayed in the lead," Meyer would say later. "I was getting my splits the whole way but - to be honest - I didn't care. Records will come and go, but winning Boston will be there forever."

In a perfectly executed game plan over a course where he has trained so often, Meyer moved onto the list of the world's elite marathoners on this cool and overcast day when he ran away from fading Benji Durden in the final six miles to a smashing 2:09:00 victory.

Even though he fell off Alberto Salazar's world record pace when he ran through 21 miles and headed into the density of the crowds that would escort him to the finish line by Prudential Plaza, Meyer's time was history's 10th fastest and Boston's third.

The magnitude of his performance was almost overshadowed by the astonishing run of Joan Benoit, who set all sorts of American records en route to a stunning world record 2:22:42. What she did, in effect, was to put women's marathoning on a wondrous new plateau.

This was a remarkable Boston Marathon, resurrected out of the ashes of doubt that followed the 86th race. With the race's future still somewhat clouded because of the pending litigation over the Boston Athletic Assn. contract with attorney Marshall Medoff, the race was the thing.

From the start by the village green in Hopkinton through the normally troubled spots by Boston College and into Cleveland Circle and beyond, crowd control was never better. "It's the best organized Boston Marathon I've ever seen," said New York's Fred Lebow, the master of marathon organization.

If Meyer had to share some of the glow of the spotlight with Benoit, it took nothing away from the glitter of his effort on a day when a favoring tailwind was conducive to decent times and Bill Rodgers talked of maybe just one more marathon after finishing 10th.

Meyer, who'd moved to the Greater Boston area in 1978 out of Grand Rapids, Michigan and temporarily went to work for Rodgers in his Cleveland Circle store, was perfectly trained for this race by Bill Squires, who did the same thing for Dick Beardsley a year ago.

Squires, who once worked with Rodgers and Salazar in the halcyon days of the Greater Boston TC, is the master at preparing the runner for the course. Salazar (2:08:51), Beardsley (2:08:53), Meyer and Rodgers (2:09:27) own four of the five fastest American times in Boston.

The man who now owns the fourth fastest time is Ron Tabb, who surged past Durden as they headed through Coolidge Corner on Beacon Street and into the 26th mile. Tabb's time of 2:09:31 makes him the 6th fastest American and Durden's 2:09:57 lifted him to 7th on the US list.

Even though there was a sizeable lead pack as they ran through the early stretches of countryside in Ashland, it started to thin out rapidly and Meyer, Durden and Paul Cummings went through 10 miles in 49:11. Salazar's comparable split in his 1981 New York world record run was 49:06.

This would hold true for the next 11 miles, with Durden moving 25 yards in front as he went through 14 miles in 1:08:02. Salazar's New York split was 1:08:23. Meyer was never out of contact, stalking his prey and following Squires advice to be patient.

He started to close, making up a lot of ground on Brae Burn Hill approaching 18 miles and finally running Durden down just past 19 miles, by Newton City Hall. They talked.

Durden: "It looks like we've got a fast time."

Meyer: "Yeah, let's just keep going."

"I was surprised more people didn't go with Benji," said Meyer. "I thought Benji was going to run a conservative race. I'll never underestimate him again. He ran a courageous race. He did a lot of the work out there. I was hoping he would run himself out.

"Before the second hill, I threw a fake in. The fake worked. The only fake I put in is the one that got me away. I think Benji was tired. I was just trying to see what he had left. You really don't exect to break away from the field with a fake. You do it just to let them know you're going to run hard.

"It was just survival. Squires had me just strong enough to hang on a little longer. I was having leg cramps. I didn't want to work the uphills at all. My plan was to work the flats of the hills. I wanted to just maintain going uphill. I felt good at the top of Heartbreak Hill and I sort of lost my concentration somewhat.

"I didn't want to run downhill hard. I felt under control in Cleveland Circle. I felt it would be hard for someone to catch me: I had something left. The thing on my mind most was: Relax and go for the win.' I was very content to be alone the last four miles. I slowed. I sort of went into that old marathon shuffle."

In the process, Meyer can shuffle off to Buffalo - where the US Olympic Trials are set for May, 1984 - should he choose to try to make the marathon team. He may focus instead on the 10,000 meters, the race he hopes to run in the first World Championships this summer in Helsinki and possibly in the '84 Olympics.

Durden, who trained in sweats and much warmer temperatures in Atlanta, probably will head up the US team for the Helsinki meet and will be joined by Tabb and Ed Mendoza, who finished fourth (2:10:06) on a day when 10 runners broke 2:12 and 13 were under 2:13 in Boston's fastest mass finish.

"I felt I was in decent shape and I had a chance," said Durden, who won the 1982 Montreal race on a hot Memorial Day weekend. "I blistered up. I usually run strong downhill, but every time I plut my foot down I jarred it. It got worse from 18 miles to the finish. I don't want to come off sounding like I might have beaten Greg. He ran smart. I don't think I ran the best race I could run, but I did under the circumstances."

Tabb's resume includes wins in Houston (1980), New Orleans (1980) and Paris (1981, 2:11:44), a third in Boston (1980) and a fourth in the 1980 US Olympic Trials. Now he is Ron Tabb the marathon runner again instead of Mary Decker's husband-coach-trackside enthusiast.

"I felt very strong," said Tabb, who has worked the past 10 weeks in Eugene, Ore., with Bill Dellinger, the man who coaches Salazar. "This year something's at stake: Helsinki. I didn't think it would take a 2:10 to do it, but it wasn't a pace that was out of control."

So Meyer became Boston's newest marathon celebrity, the guy who worked as a clerk for Rodgers after giving up a job sweeping floors in the athletic complex at the University of Michigan. So it was that he moved here five years ago to train with Boston's best.

He's just 27, a restless spirit with an enormous talent who should start to get the recognition he deserves on the world stage. He plans to run on the tracks of the world this summer, leaving the date and site of his next marathon somewhere in limbo.

"I don't know what he can do," said Squires. "Greg's the only athlete I've had with speed and I've had seven marathoners go under 2:11. We're all going to find out what he can do when he starts running 10,000 meters. We'll see when we bring him back. He's a thoroughbred breed of marathoner."

what do you think wrote:
Gotts agree that Boston Billy stands alone in that group.

Think again.

GREG MEYER

US Ranking (10 times)

(3)3000SC 10,5,9 (76,79,80)

(3)10000 7,9,4 (83,85,86)

(4)Marathon 6,2,8,9(82,83,84,88)

World Rankings (none)

National Championships (1 time)

Cross Country 1 (78)

Olympic Teams (none)

American Records (none)

Road records 4 (10k,15k,15k,10mi)

World Championships (none)

CRAIG VIRGIN

US Ranking (17 times)

(7)5000 6,8,3,3,3,4,3 (75,76,77,78,80,81)

(9)10000 7,3,2,1,1,1,4,3,6 (75,76,77,78,79,80,82,83,84)

(1)marathon 2(81)

World Rankings (3 times)

(2) 10000 2,2 (79,80)

(1) marathon 6 (81)

National Championships (4 times)

10000 4 (78,79,80,82)

Olympic Teams (3 times)

10000 3 (76,80,84)

American Records Track (2 times)

10000 2 (79,80)

Road Records none

World Championships (2)

Cross Country 2 (80,81)

ALBERTO SALAZAR

US Ranking (18 times)

(5)5000 4,5,4,1,7 (79,80,81,82,83)

(8)10000 10,7,2,2,1,1,1,4 (77,78,79,80,81,82,83,84)

(5)Marathon 1,1,1,1,2 (80,81,82,83,84)

World Rankings (6 times)

(1) 5000 8 (82)

(2) 10000 6,2 (81,82)

(3) Marathon 4,1,1 (80,81,82)

National Championships (3 times)

10000 2 (81,82)

Cross Country 1 (79)

Olympic Teams (2 times)

10000 1 (80)

Marathon 1 (84)

American Records (3 times)

5000 1 (82)

10000 2, (82,82)

Marathon 2 (83,83)

Road records 7 (8k,8k,10k,10k,10k,Mar, Mar)

World Championships (none)

BILL RODGERS

US Ranking (12 times)

(2) 10000 4,5,(76,78)

(10)Marathon 1,3,1,1,1,5,3,5,9,6 (75,76,77,78,79,80,81,82,84,85,86

World Rankings (6 times)

(6) Marathon 1,6,1,2,1,7 (75,76,77,78,79,81)

National Championships (none)

Olympic Team (none)

American Records (none)

Road Records 5 (10k, 15k, HM, 25k, 30k)

World Championships none

Summed up

US Rankings

18 Salazar

17 Virgin

12 Rodgers

10 Meyer

World Rankings

6 Rodgers (3 #1s)

6 Salazar (2 #1s)

3 Virgin

World Championships

2 Virgin

0 Salazar

0 Meyer

0 Rodgers

National Championships

4 Virgin

3 Salazar

1 Meyer

0 Rodgers

Olympic Teams

3 Virgin

2 Salazar

0 Meyer

0 Rodgers

American Records

Track

3 Salazar

2 Virgin

0 Meyer

0 Rodgers

Road

7 Salazar

5 Rodgers

4 Meyer

0 Virgin

Interview - Greg Meyer, 1983 Boston Marathon champion

Of General Interest

This thread has already been deleted.

You have been subscribed.

Interview - Greg Meyer, 1983 Boston Marathon champion

Jump To A Page

Follow malmo

Block malmo

Follow mplatt

Block mplatt

Follow malmo

Block malmo

Follow fwen

Block fwen

Follow malmo

Block malmo

Follow malmo

Block malmo

Jump To A Page

Of General Interest

This thread has already been deleted.

Reply Replying to

You have been subscribed.