"I ran my fastest marathon in the rain." -- Bill Rodgers
William "Bill" Henry Rodgers (born December 23, 1947 in Hartford, Connecticut) is an American runner and former American record holder in the marathon who is best known for his victories in the Boston Marathon and the New York City Marathon in the late 1970s.
Rodgers won both races four times each between 1975 and 1980, twice breaking the American record at Boston with a time of 2:09:55 in 1975 and a 2:09:27 in 1979. In 1977 he won the Fukuoka 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 the Montreal Olympics in 1976, finishing 40th. He did not participate in the Olympics in 1980 due to the U.S. boycott over the invasion of Afghanistan by the USSR. Rodgers is also the last U.S.-born winner in the men's or women's open divisions of the New York City Marathon to date; the two subsequent American winners were born in Cuba (Alberto Salazar) and Eritrea (Meb Keflezighi).
In 1975 Rodgers won the bronze medal at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships, equaling Tracy Smith's 1966 bronze in the International Cross 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 10,000 meter nationals (with a new world road 10K best time of 28:36.3), the Falmouth Road Race, and the Boston & New York marathons. Rodgers is also the former world record holder for 25 kilometers as he broke Pekka Päivärinta's world record with a time of 1:14.11.8 on a track at West Valley College in Saratoga, California in 1979.
Track & Field News ranked Rodgers #1 in the world in the marathon in 1975, 1977 and 1979. 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".
Rodgers received his B.A. in sociology from Wesleyan University. One of his teammates, Amby Burfoot, won the Boston Marathon while still a student and went on to edit Runners World magazine. Rodgers also has an MS in special education from Boston College.
Rodgers was inducted on December 3, 1999, in Los Angeles, California to the National Track & Field Hall of Fame located in Indianapolis, Indiana. In 1998, Rodgers was inducted in the first round to the National Distance Running Hall of Fame in Utica, New York.
Bill Rodgers Running Center in Faneuil Hall Market Place in Boston, Massachusetts is owned and operated by Bill and his brother Charlie. The family-run business has been going since 1977.
"Age 50 is a lot tougher than 40s.""Anybody can be a runner... We were meant to move. We were meant to run. It's the easiest sport.""Being a runner means you are now "free" to win and lose and live life to its fullest.""Every race is totally different.""Hills are terrific for running.""I always say if the marathon is a part-time interest, you will only get part-time results.""I believe in gradual experimentation with running shoes.""I believe in keeping running simple and, in regard to shoes, that would mean no gimmicks, unnecessary cushioning, etc.""I believe you'll develop speed via strength work which includes hill running, either repeats, or running hilly courses as the Kenyans do on a steady basis.""I like rain, actually.""I want to run until I can't run.""If you want to win a race you have to go a little berserk.""My biggest weakness as a endurance athlete has been in not drinking enough water after training, thereby racing sometimes while dehydrated.""My guess is many top athletes, distance runners included, use performance-enhancing drugs, enough so that the problem must be tackled.""My whole feeling in terms of racing is that you have to be very bold. You sometimes have to be aggressive and gamble.""The marathon can humble you.""The starting line of the New York Marathon is kind of like a giant time bomb behind you about to go off. It is the most spectacular start in sport.""To be a consistent winner means preparing not just one day, one month or even one year - but for a lifetime.""You cannot always run at your best."