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Untitled
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On the run
an interview with marathon champion Bill Rodgers
by Brion O'Connor
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 A lithe, wiry man, Bill Rodgers has a bounce to his step as well as his personality. Breezing into his store -- the Bill Rodgers Running Center, in downtown Boston -- he greets people with a quick smile and an unassuming nature that is as genuine as it is friendly. The bounce in his step also reveals legs and lungs that are pure World Champion pedigree.
For many years during the running boom of the 1970s and early '80s, the name "Bill Rodgers" and the phrase "long distance running" were synonymous. The competitive fires that drove Rodgers to four Boston Marathon victories, four New York City Marathon victories and three No. 1 world rankings between 1975 and 1979 still smolder. Now 51, he sets his sights on age-group records in shorter races, competing in roughly two dozen meets a year, and will take another run at the Boston Marathon this spring.
To those who know him well, Rodgers has a heart to match his competitive spirit. "With Bill, what you see is what you get," says Jack Coakley, an employee at Rodgers' store who is training for the wheelchair competition at the Boston Marathon. "He's just a great guy."
In many ways, the Bill Rodgers Running Center reflects the man: a neat, no-frills running shop filled with people dedicated to the sport. But while Rodgers is a man of almost unfailing modesty, the store is festooned with memorabilia celebrating his remarkable career: the hand-lettered jersey and shoes he wore in his breakthrough race (a record-shattering triumph at the Boston Marathon in 1975), framed covers from Sports Illustrated, and enlarged reproductions of newspaper reports from Boston and almost every corner of the globe.
Yes, running has taken this over-active Connecticut native to great heights of fame and recognition in the world of track and field. Yet Rodgers remains true to his New England roots, to the site of his greatest triumph, Boston, and to his sport.
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Meet Bill Rodgers
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Bill Rodgers
;)
