Bill Rodgers and the World that Followed

The Boston Marathon Podcast

A four-time champion of the Boston and New York City Marathons, Bill Rodgers is a global ambassador for the sport, and, now 70, is still tackling road races near and far. Among other roles, he's an ambassador for John Hancock at each Boston Marathon, and can be found bounding around the city each year around the race.

After his collegiate running days at Wesleyan University, Rodgers moved to Boston, worked in a hospital, and his running ambitions diminished.

He dropped out of the first Boston Marathon he ran in 1973, he finished 14th in 1974, and had his first running breakthrough in March of 1975, when he earned a bronze medal in the World Cross Country Championships in Rabat, Morocco.

While racing the Boston Marathon in April of 1975, his shoelace became untied while leading the race in Newton. He went to a knee and laced up, and when he started up again he never looked back, winning in 2:09:55. With the performance, Rodgers set a personal best by about ten minutes, a new Course Record, new American Record, and began a legendary running career.