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.     

Bill Rodgers and the World that Followed

The first ever Boston Marathon podcast, presented by the Boston Athletic Association and media partner WBZ-TV. 

We invite you to join us as we bring you stories, the people, and the issues, that make the Marathon what it is, both today and through history - in Boston and around the world.

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Amateur

Outdoor

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The 2018 Boston Marathon Champion discusses the ups and downs of her running career, and a really wet, cold, and glorious day in Boston.

Des Linden Keeps Showing Up

Roger Robinson, a professor, a writer, and a world-class runner, joins Tom Grilk on the Boston Marathon podcast. With years of experience in a myriad of areas, Robinson shares his perspectives on literature, running, the intersection between them, and the current state of running. And, he's married to women's running pioneer Kathrine Switzer, making he and she a top candidate for the world's most recognized running couple.   

The Many Facets of Roger Robinson

While training with her coach in the Winter of 1966, Kathrine was told that 'women were not allowed to run the Boston Marathon'. Flabbergasted, the Syracuse University student set her mind on doing just that - and in 1967, she made way for Boston. She signed her name 'K.V.' on the application form and started the 1967 race without incident. But a few miles down the road, race director Jock Semple got wind of a woman in his race, and he saw her, he tried to take her bib numbers away. After all, the Amateur Athletics Union did not allow for women to compete in the B.A.A. Boston Marathon, and Jock wasn't about to let an 'imposter' run in his race. The pictures of the incident went around the world, and Kathrine became an icon for women and their right to an even playing field near and far. Today, with her creation of Fearless 261, her work continues. She sat down with B.A.A. CEO Tom Grilk in May of 2018 to talk through the day that was, and all that has happened since.     

The Relentless Kathrine Switzer

There are many inclines along the course of the Boston Marathon, but they don't phase five-time champion Tatyana McFadden, who has overcome far greater obstacles in her time. In this episode, Tatyana sits down with B.A.A. CEO Tom Grilk and B.A.A. Board Member Cheri Blauwet to talk about her success and struggles both in and out of the sport. And, as Tatyana explains, if anything scares her, it's the early downhills of the Boston Marathon. 

Five-Time Champion Tatyana McFadden

Cheri Blauwet grew up in Iowa as an involved student - student council and academic groups filled her schedule.  Sports and competitive racing rarely drew her interest. After all, Blauwet used a wheelchair to get around, and didn't feel that the track team was something she was cut out for.  But with the persistent encouragement of a high school advisor, Blauwet eventually joined the track team, and once she started pushing laps, she never looked back. She went on to compete at the University of Arizona, several Paralympic Games, and road races around the word, where she often found success.  Blauwet won the 2004 and 2005 Boston Marathon, and today serves on the governing body of the Boston Athletic Association, the organization which hosts the annual race. Since her racing days, she has excelled in a myriad of other roles: a professor, a doctor, and most recently, a parent. Cheri sits down with B.A.A. CEO Tom Grilk to talk about her long resume and all that is ahead.

Bill Rodgers and the World that Followed

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