1978 Penn Relays

This was my first trip to this world-famous track meet and my best opportunity to qualify for the Nationals, which would be held at UCLA in June. After a disappointing debut in the marathon at Boston in 1977, I decided to go back to running the kinds of events that would make me a better,…

1978 Chasing a National 10k Qualifier

I began the year at Stinson Beach, Ca. My Lowell friend Ron Durand and I were continuing our cross country trip that started the previous June. We left Tacoma, Wash., which had been our home base since September, the day after Christmas. A good friend of mine from the University Of Lowell, a great high-jumper…

1977 New York City Marathon

This was the occasion of the second New York City Marathon held through the city’s five boroughs. I was in the middle of a cross-country motor trip and currently stationed in Tacoma, Washington. This trip was scheduled to last a year, or at least until I was seriously broke. I made a call back home and found…

1977 Freedom Trail Eight-Miler

THE SUNDAY SUN, LOWELL, MASS., OCT. 30, 1977 Lowell’s Hodge eyes 1984 Olympics   By CHARLES SCOGGINS Jr. Sun Staff   LOWELL – What makes Bobby run? You’ve seen him running along Bridge Street in the sweltering August heat. You’ve seen him running down Andover Street beneath the billowing trees and their kaleidoscope of colorful…

1977 Silver Lake Dodge Marathon

In February, I ran my first marathon, the infamous Silver Lake Dodge race sponsored by the car dealership in Wellesley. I wished to compete in this race in order to get my qualifier for the Boston Marathon, and also as a way of viewing, at ground level, the first half of the Boston course. My Greater…

1975 Lowell Half-Marathon

This was a pivotal race in my running career. I was attending the University of Lowell at this time, but was ineligible to compete because of my recent transfer from Johnson & Wales Junior College. I had been a member of the Greater Boston Track Club for about a year and had done some training…

Bill Rodgers: 1977 Training Log

1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 | Jan | Feb | Mar | April | May | June | July | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec January 1977 Date: Mileage Breakdown: Comments:   1 – Sat 25 miles in pm – easy pace, flat course Ran once for…