Catching Up with Bill Rodgers

In the '70s, the name Bill Rodgers became synonymous with the Boston Marathon and marathons in general.

Rodgers, a guest speaker at noon on both days of the Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon Health & Fitness Expo in Euclid, won 22 marathons in his career. In 28 of his 59 marathons, he finished in under 2:15.

He won the Boston and New York marathons four times each between 1975 and 1980, twice breaking the American record at Boston (2:09:55 in 1975 and 2:09:27 in 1979). Track & Field News ranked him the world's No. 1 marathoner three times.

In advance of his Cleveland appearance, Rodgers, who ran for the 1976 U.S. Olympic team in Montreal, discussed the state of marathon running and other topics in a phone Q&A on Tuesday.

Q: What was your favorite race?

A Sub-2 Hour Marathon? Not Anytime Soon Say Rodgers, Mutai

Geoffrey Mutai, the winner of the 2011 Boston Marathon, came very close to two hours in his finish time last year. He set a course-record, world-best time of 2:03:02.

Yet when asked about the possibility of an under-two-hour marathon, he sounded doubtful.

The Other Bill Rodgers

April 2012

Bill Rodgers has run the Cherry Creek Sneak every year since its inception in 1982, and he will be running it again Sunday to celebrate its 30th anniversary. But before we get to what keeps him coming back, we had better make it clear he's not the guy who won the Boston Marathon four times and the New York City Marathon four times.