William Henry Rodgers (born December 23, 1947) is an American runner, Olympian, and former record holder in themarathon. Rodgers is best known for his four victories in both theBoston Marathon, including three straight from 1978 to 1980, and 4 straight wins in theNew York City Marathon, between 1976 and 1979.
Born inHartford, Connecticut, Rodgers moved toNewington, Connecticut, with his family when he was around five. He attendedNewington High School, where he played hockey and baseball, along with his older brother Charlie. When Newington High School added cross country as a sport in the fall of 1963, sophomore Bill Rodgers decided to join. Running track and cross country under coach Frank O'Rourke, Rodgers ran the mile in 4:28:8, won the 1965 Connecticut state cross country title and finished seventh in the New England Cross Country Championships.[3] He first ran a road race at the Manchester Thanksgiving Day 4.78 mile race in 1965. Despite his amazing success, he never won this famous race.[4]
In the fall of 1966, Rodgers enrolled atWesleyan University where he ran cross country and track, graduating with a B.A. in sociology in 1970. One of his teammates and college roommate,Amby Burfoot, won the 1968Boston Marathon while still a student at Wesleyan and went on to editRunner's World magazine. Another teammate and friend was future OlympianJeff Galloway, who is a noted author on running.[3]
After graduating in 1970, Rodgers enrolled to study and eventually receive his MS in special education fromBoston College. After stepping away from competitive running for a time, in 1973, track coachBill Squires first formed theGreater Boston Track Club at Boston College to train small group of local elite runners, with Rodgers becoming one of them.[3]
In April 1973, Rodgers entered his firstBoston Marathon, dropping out at mile 20. After the race, Rodgers quit running for three months, only to return to training. Rodgers then won the Bay State Marathon in 2:28 in October 1973.[3]
In April 1974, Rodgers returned to run the Boston Marathon, finishing 14th. On October 29, 1974, Rodgers ran his firstNew York City Marathon, finishing fifth. One month after New York, Rodgers won thePhiladelphia Marathon in 2:21.[3]
In 1975, Rodgers then burst into national prominence when he won the1975 Boston Marathon in 2:09:55, setting a new American record.[3]
Rodgers won both the New York City Marathon and the Boston Marathon four times each between 1975 and 1980, twice breaking the American record at Boston with a time of 2:09:55 in 1975 and 2:09:27 in 1979. In 1977, he won theFukuoka Marathon, making him the only runner ever to hold the championship of all three major marathons at the same time. He made the 1976 U.S. Olympic team and raced the marathon at theMontreal Olympics in 1976, finishing 40th in 2:25:14. He did not participate in theOlympics in 1980 due to theU.S. boycott over the invasion ofAfghanistan by theUSSR.[1]
In 1975, Rodgers won the bronze medal at theIAAF World Cross Country Championships, equaling Tracy Smith's 1966 bronze in the InternationalCross Country Championships as the highest an American had ever finished in international cross country competition. Rodgers' most remarkable year on the road racing circuit came in 1978 when he won 27 of the 30 races he entered, including the Pepsi 10 km nationals (with a new world road 10 km best time of 28:36.3), theFalmouth Road Race, and the Boston and New York City marathons. Rodgers is also the former world record holder for 25 kilometers as he brokePekka Päivärinta's world record with a time of 1:14.11.8 on a track atWest Valley College inSaratoga, California, in 1979.[1]
Track & Field News ranked Rodgers number one in the world in the marathon in 1975, 1977 and 1979.[1] Of the 59 marathons Rodgers ran, 28 were run under 2:15. In all, he won 22 marathons in his career. He came to be referred to by sportswriters and others as "Boston Billy".[5]
Rodgers has run theBix 7 road race inDavenport, Iowa, every year since 1980, earning the local nickname "Bix Billy". A bronze statue of Rodgers andJoan Benoit Samuelson was erected near the Bix finish line in 2007.[6][7]
Bill Rodgers Running Center inFaneuil Hall Marketplace in Boston was owned and operated by Bill and his brother Charlie. The family-run business operated from 1977 to 2013.[9] He lives in the small town ofBoxborough, Massachusetts, and still participates in running-themed events.
Rodgers, Bill,Bill Rodgers' Lifetime Running Plan: Definitive Programs for Runners of all Ages and Levels (1996) Collins,ISBN0-06-273386-9
Rodgers, Bill & Douglas, Scott,The Complete Idiot's Guide to Running, 2nd edition (2003) Alpha,ISBN0-02-864466-2
Derderian, Tom, Boston Marathon: The First Century of the World's Premiere Running Event, 1996, Human Kinetics, Champaign, IL,ISBN0-88011-479-7
Rodgers, Bill & Shepatin, Matthew,Marathon Man: My 26.2-Mile Journey from Unknown Grad Student to the Top of the Running World (2013)ISBN978-1250016980
