We do not want to forget pioneers. Bill Rodgers was one.
He taught and inspired us on what could be done. He also taught us
what we should not do, which is just as important.
"If (Rodgers) keeps to his current schedule, by the end of 1978 he will have run 35 races."
Dirtpoor wrote:
https://www.si.com/vault/1978/10/02/823019/want-one-for-the-road-try-bill-in-winning-his-17th-consecutive-road-race-over-the-last-seven-months-bill-rodgers-discovered-that-the-diet-pepsi-10000-meter-national-championship-hit-the-spot
Bill, Herb, Greg, Frank, etc...those were the days;)
Kickapoo wrote:
We do not want to forget pioneers. Bill Rodgers was one.
He taught and inspired us on what could be done. He also taught us
what we should not do, which is just as important.
What did he tell us not to do?
SDSU Aztec wrote:
Kickapoo wrote:
We do not want to forget pioneers. Bill Rodgers was one.
He taught and inspired us on what could be done. He also taught us
what we should not do, which is just as important.
What did he tell us not to do?
Thank you for posting.
The longer the race the better Bill Rodgers was. Wikipedia says his best mile was 4:18. Another source says
he ran it in 4:16 in college. Frank Shorter ran like 4:02, Craig Virgin was probably at 4:05, Rupp ran 3:52.
I think most great marathoners were faster for one mile, although Rodgers probably never ran it much after college.
tarckstar wrote:
"If (Rodgers) keeps to his current schedule, by the end of 1978 he will have run 35 races."
Good quote. Yes, many of the guys ran way too many races in those days. It's not as bad if
you are running 5Ks and 10Ks. Rodgers ran many 10 Milers, half marathons, and ran as many as 6 marathons per
year. (Please correct me on the specifics, I am going off memory.)
Rodgers is my idol wrote:
Kickapoo wrote:
I wonder how he would have done if he had not been a chain smoker before his famous NYC and Boston wins.
I think that careless hippy spirit is why he was so good at running. He just ran. He wasn't OCD over every variable. He just got out the door twice a day most days and ran.
I've read where in group runs he would sometimes run with guys running 8 minute miles.
Apologies, it’s been posted before but it’s a keeper
Kickapoo wrote:
tarckstar wrote:
"If (Rodgers) keeps to his current schedule, by the end of 1978 he will have run 35 races."
Good quote. Yes, many of the guys ran way too many races in those days. It's not as bad if
you are running 5Ks and 10Ks. Rodgers ran many 10 Milers, half marathons, and ran as many as 6 marathons per
year. (Please correct me on the specifics, I am going off memory.)
You have that backwards. Most of the runners today don't race enough. (Except Yuki)
Kickapoo wrote:
There is certainly an argument that could be made that Rodgers was the best
marathon runner of all time. The dude won 4 Boston Marathons and 4 NYC Marathons.
Weren't most of those consecutive as well? He did not do well in the Olympics.
We also never hear about Frank Shorter. What would running be like without Frank Shorter
and Jim Ryun?
Bill Rodgers was a great runner and as a child I was his biggest fan. With all due respect, however, I don't think he was the greatest marathon runner of all time. That honor goes to Eliud Kipchoge, clearly.
Kickapoo wrote:
Good quote. Yes, many of the guys ran way too many races in those days. It's not as bad if
you are running 5Ks and 10Ks. Rodgers ran many 10 Milers, half marathons, and ran as many as 6 marathons per
year. (Please correct me on the specifics, I am going off memory.)
Do we have any GPS and cadence data to back up his runs? Seems like an oddly high number to just accept at face value with no official MI thread about it.
Are there any pictures of him on a bike?
Rodgers comes up every now and then, but if you do a google search like "Bill Rodgers"site:letsrun.com you will find a plethora of threads, so people probably find enough on those that they don't feel the need to make another thread.
I wanted to say a couple of things about Boston Billy.
When I was young, I used to listen to the late-night Larry King Show on the radio. One night in 1980, the guest was Bill Rodgers and he was entertaining and fascinating. That night I decided I needed to run a marathon someday (which I did).
Forward to 2015, when I was running the Philadelphia Marathon. Bill spoke and then, the next morning, we saw him on the street and struck up a conversation. As others have noted, he could not have been more friendly. It's probably the first time I've ever felt like I need to wrap up a conversation with a celebrity. He would have talked to us all day! And he was delighted when I told him I remembered the Larry King interview from 35 years earlier.
Also, at the talk the day before, someone ask him his last marathon time and I think he said it was something like 4:17. I asked him, "When it started becoming clear to you that you weren't going to be competitive any more in big races, did you accept it gracefully or did you fight it for a while?" He said, "Well, it didn't matter, because it was happening anyway." I loved the way he responded, and it's helped me as I get older and slower.
One other thing he said which has helped me: In his first Boston Marathon, he wasn't feeling great around mile 20 and his house was nearby so he just walked home. As we know, he ended up wining multiple ones soon thereafter. I think about this, too, when I have a bad race. It's just one, and it's not the end.
Kickapoo wrote:
There is certainly an argument that could be made that Rodgers was the best
marathon runner of all time. The dude won 4 Boston Marathons and 4 NYC Marathons.
Weren't most of those consecutive as well? He did not do well in the Olympics.
We also never hear about Frank Shorter. What would running be like without Frank Shorter
and Jim Ryun?
Because he's smart, he doesn't post here anymore.
Rill Bodgers wrote:
Kickapoo wrote:
There is certainly an argument that could be made that Rodgers was the best
marathon runner of all time. The dude won 4 Boston Marathons and 4 NYC Marathons.
Weren't most of those consecutive as well? He did not do well in the Olympics.
We also never hear about Frank Shorter. What would running be like without Frank Shorter
and Jim Ryun?
Because he's smart, he doesn't post here anymore.
Bill brought them out in droves! He was the King of the Roads, accept it people!
Scubacane wrote:
As a HS Runner, I worshipped Bill Rodgers. To me he is still the all time best American marathoner. As Al Sal was coming on as the heir apparent , I could tell he was a jerk even back then and actively rooted against him.
I can't blame you for rooting against him. If I can recall, Al Sal said in an interview that he was in 2:09 shape and proved it, but the air of arrogance and cockiness was a huge contrast with Bill's laid back demeanor. I said to myself in Spanglish, "this come mierda ain't gonna last", and he didn't.
Both Rodgers and Shorter are well into retirement and dealing with the issues that years of 120 mile weeks cause.
Dont forget to give props to the inscrutable Boston coach Bill Squires,
Jamaica pond is s great place to run no doubt but it needs seriously upgrade...the pavement sucks got potholes and roots everywhere...the dirt on side is ok for small stretches...but not the whole thing.
I know bill did a lot of his training there as o looked at his log...staggering.
I still think the city needs a dedicated dirt chip trail only for runners...no razors or bikes or baby carriages...I go do intervals at the track around the corner and the damn razors are in ever lane.
Name it after Boston Billy or Joanie or both.
The amount of runners in the city is staggering...a new dedicated trail would be dynamite...woodchips or dirt like Pre trail.
Bill is the man.