Training video of Bill Rodgers from the 70s

Great stuff, the old oversized BC track. Went down and did a workout with Bill, Hodgie, Dickie and Scott Graham in 1980. The good old days, just run baby.

Funny seeing a skinny young Randy Thomas at the table at the Elliott.

fj wrote:

thx much for this one - BR is still a motivation. Can't think of one runner who got so many off the couch and onto the roads. Ellen was obviously above-and-beyond supportive - even hanging back and supporting other GBTC guys; what a sweetheart. Speaking of Montreal, he didn't even bother mentioning his foot - the real cause of his 40th place. I believe it was an on-going arch problem due to too-tight shoes. He was wounded weeks before and after Montreal.

I suspect he didn't want to compromise his relationship with his shoe sponsor so diverted the injury issue.

Here's what he said in his training log:

Dropped out after getting over the top of Heartbreak Hill – was in perhaps 10th – 20 place by leg hamstring (rt.) and calf cramps were becoming worse as were frequency of stops from side-aches and dehydration & fatigue. Ran OK pace 1st 3 – 5 miles than began to burn and Jerome Drayton (eventual winner) and I dueled until he left me at about 14 – 15 miles. Hot (80°s) & sunny!! I think my difficulties were: 1- too much training was not strength building but tired slower running. 2- not enough speed (race-pace) training – due to injuries in Feb. & March 3- Dog-doo hot weather – was 20° higher than I was ready for in marathon!

http://bobhodge.us/bill-rodgers-1977-training-log/

Was Rodgers world class in the 5/10ks back in the day, or was he marathon only?

sky wrote:

Was Rodgers world class in the 5/10ks back in the day, or was he marathon only?

He was pretty good in the 10000m, never really in the 5000m.

Lydiard Cerutty wrote:

Here's what he said in his training log:

Dropped out after getting over the top of Heartbreak Hill – was in perhaps 10th – 20 place by leg hamstring (rt.) and calf cramps were becoming worse as were frequency of stops from side-aches and dehydration & fatigue. Ran OK pace 1st 3 – 5 miles than began to burn and Jerome Drayton (eventual winner) and I dueled until he left me at about 14 – 15 miles. Hot (80°s) & sunny!! I think my difficulties were: 1- too much training was not strength building but tired slower running. 2- not enough speed (race-pace) training – due to injuries in Feb. & March 3- Dog-doo hot weather – was 20° higher than I was ready for in marathon!

http://bobhodge.us/bill-rodgers-1977-training-log/

In looking at that log, I don't see the workout shown in the video. Squires mentions "Monday" as to why they're doing basically 4 x mile at marathon pace with 5:30 rest. So it seems the workout is soon before Boston. Also, it looks like a nice warm spring day, so farther away from race day seems unlikely (especially with how BR describes the weather for much of the late winter/early spring).

Lydiard Cerutty wrote:

sky wrote:

Was Rodgers world class in the 5/10ks back in the day, or was he marathon only?

He was pretty good in the 10000m, never really in the 5000m.

He ran 13:42 in Oslo for his only sojourn to Europe.

Thanks for posting! Here is an old video I shot in 1978 at the Dayton River Courridor Classic. Drayton, Shorter, etc. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJ2AkZRCmxU

3rd at World XC in 75.

Assume you all notice the kid, Al Salazar in the mix there.

The best doc from that era was "In Pursuit of Excellence", which followed Rodgers and Shorter's training up to the 1978 Boston Marathon. It was produced by Pittsburg Public TV and aired in 1980. Great footage of the '78 Boston race.

Fentrekker wrote:

Assume you all notice the kid, Al Salazar in the mix there.

The best doc from that era was "In Pursuit of Excellence", which followed Rodgers and Shorter's training up to the 1978 Boston Marathon. It was produced by Pittsburg Public TV and aired in 1980. Great footage of the '78 Boston race.

Do you mean in the track footage in the beginning? I don't think that is Salazar. Assuming it is Spring 1977, Salazar would have been in Oregon.

Rodgers's wife does come off as incredible supportive. However, I understand that she contributed to his financial downfall (after their divorce) because she owned a significant part of the old BR clothing company and vetoed the sale of the company when it was still a going concern. (I don't think anyone blames her for the collapse of the company -- it was poorly managed from Day 1 and then could not compete when the sneaker companies started making clothing. )

True about Salazar. Sure looks like him but I guess someone else.

This is perhaps the least toxic LR thread I've ever seen. Lots of positivity and thank you's. Cool. Cool video!

SandDunes wrote:

Just found it on YouTube, I thought y'all would be interested.

https://youtu.be/ac9SvCYapI8

Man.....This was awesome. Thanks for sharing. Always wanted to know how it was racing a thon back in the old days. "Billy the Kid" was one heck of a runner.

Fentrekker wrote:

Lip Kitten wrote:

Do you mean in the track footage in the beginning? I don't think that is Salazar. Assuming it is Spring 1977, Salazar would have been in Oregon.

True about Salazar. Sure looks like him but I guess someone else.

It's Vin Fleming

Fantastic to look back on this race, and some wonderful Greater Boston Track Club guys with whom I (as an average runner) was fortunate enough to occasionally rub elbows, like Bill, Randy Thomas (gray button-up t-shirt @ 2:29 mark), Bob Hall (men's wheelchair winner, 17:26 & earlier), and Bill Squires. I lived and ran in Boston back then and have fond memories of my experiences.

This video presents the Bill Rodgers in such a good light - as a friend to all, and outwardly happy-go-lucky even on a day where he failed to deliver.

It really is intriguing to see how different the Boston Marathon was in those days, in so many ways. I'm glad I was able to participate in the Boston running scene back then. Thanks for posting the video and helping to revive fading memories!

So great to see this again. I watched this as a kid on PBS in the DC area back in ‘78. That doc about the ‘78 Boston race that was mentioned above was produced by WQED for PBS. It was called The Pursuit of Excellence. Does anyone have a copy to post on YouTube?

Looks like they drank as hard as they ran! ... at 2:45 whoever that guy is has like 8 empties on the table

Had a bad copy, but lost it in my many moves. Would love to see it again - even purchase