近距离内射合集

Vinnie Kelley鈥檚 chuckle is not a scoff. It鈥檚 more of the kind someone can鈥檛 quite contain when a comparison seems unlikely, perhaps even a little out there. He also wants you to know he鈥檚 serious. Completely.

The first two names the 74-year-old runner shares are an appropriate pairing, both known in the American sports world and tied to the same thing. There鈥檚 James Naismith, the inventor of basketball and the man for whom the sport鈥檚 hall of fame is named after in Springfield, Massachusetts. Then, there鈥檚 Michael Jordan, who certainly doesn鈥檛 need any kind of bio or instruction, long or short. A six-time NBA champion and arguably the greatest basketball player of all time. 

And the third? That would be Bill Rodgers, a former Olympian and four-time winner of both the Boston and New York City marathons.

鈥淗e was like James Naismith and Michael Jordan in the same insanely hardworking body because he popularized marathon running when it was completely dead. Nobody ran,鈥� said Kelley, a longtime friend of Rogers.

鈥淗e made the marathoning society that we have today. He created how to train, he had the inspiration and the technique. He popularized it like Naismith and dominated it like Jordan. 鈥� He made the insane look normal.鈥�

Kelley, who grew up in New England during Rodgers鈥� heyday before moving to New Mexico more than 30 years ago, isn鈥檛 being hyperbolic. 

Rodgers, 78, did win 鈥� a lot 鈥� and in several places; all 5-foot-9 and 130 pounds of him.

Between 1973 and 2009, Rodgers competed in 60 marathons. The sport took him all over the world 鈥� first throughout North America, while trips to Europe, Asia, South America and Australia followed. He placed first in at least one race on each continent and won 22 marathons overall 鈥� a winning percentage of 37%.

Rodgers, however, always seemed to save his best for some of distance running鈥檚 most important marathons. There are eight listed as Abbott World Marathon Majors: Boston, New York, Chicago, London, Berlin, Tokyo, Sydney and Cape Town, South Africa.

Rodgers has eight first-place finishes from that list. 

Four came via the Boston Marathon, including three straight from 1978-80. It鈥檚 a men鈥檚 record he still shares with Clarence DeMar (1922-24 when the race fluctuated between 24.5 and 26.1 miles), Cosmas Ndeit (鈥�93-鈥�95) and Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot (2006-08).

Another four occurred in New York from 1976-79, a mark that still stands.

Each of them came at a time when runners weren鈥檛 paid for winning, let alone competing. 

The New York City Marathon didn鈥檛 pay its top performers until 1984. Today, the winner takes home $100,000. (Rodgers was paid $3,000 under the table for his win in 鈥�76.) Boston held out another two years before paying top finishers. This year鈥檚 winner received $150,000.

鈥淭here is a lot of luck that goes into it,鈥� said Rodgers, who will be appearing in Santa Fe on Saturday as the guest for High Desert Miles 鈥� 25 Years of The Running Hub that will feature a group run, a Q&A session at Santa Fe Community College and a meet-and-greet at Santa Fe Brewing Company headquarters afterward.

鈥淚n my day and earlier 鈥� It helped if you met the right coach and had the right people around you and I was lucky that way,鈥� Rodgers added. 鈥淪o once I won Boston, everything changed. If you can win a big marathon, you get invited to other races. After I won Boston, I got invited to race in Holland and then later in New York City.鈥�

There were other records, too. 

Along the way, Rodgers set 11 course marks, including two American bests when he won the 1975 Boston Marathon in 2:09:55 and the 鈥�79 event in 2:07:27. Only three American men have won the race with a faster time 鈥� Albert Salazar (2:08:52 in 鈥�82), Greg Meyer (2:09 in 鈥�83) and Meb Keflezighi (2:08:37 in 2014).

Rodgers鈥� New York course record of 2:10:10 set in 鈥�76. Meanwhile, he鈥檚 only been topped by two American winners 鈥� Salazar (2:09:41 in 鈥�80) and Keflezighi (2:09:15 in 2009).

鈥淲ho would have thought?鈥� Rodgers asked. 鈥淣ot me.鈥�

Rodgers鈥� dreams almost didn鈥檛 happen. It was a spur-of-the-moment decision that led him down this track.

Rodgers had run in high school in Newington, Connecticut, winning an individual Class LL cross country title in 1965. He continued the sport when he enrolled at Wesleyan (Connecticut) University, where he was teammates with 1968 Boston Marathon winner Amby Burfoot and 1972 Olympian Jeff Galloway.

Rodgers stopped running by the time he was a graduate student at Boston College in 1970. But he missed the team environment.

Sometimes, however, fate can be a funny thing. 

Rodgers and the sport were never too far away. He lived near the finish line for the Boston Marathon and decided to watch the end of the 鈥�72 event with his brother Charlie and friend Jason Kehoe. Among the people they happened to see finish the race? Burfoot and Galloway.

It was enough to motivate Rodgers. He joined a local YMCA, dividing his time between working out and running on the building鈥檚 old indoor track. It soon led him to join the Greater Boston Track Club, which was coached by longtime track and field coach Bill Squires.

The results followed.

In 1973, Rodgers won his first marathon 鈥� Bay State in California, setting a course record. Two years later, Rodgers earned a bronze medal in the World Cross Country Championships in Rabat, Morocco. His first Boston Marathon win came less than two months after that.

And Rodgers鈥� trajectory kept climbing. He made the 1976 U.S. Olympic team. He finished 40th in the marathon, beset by a foot injury halfway through. The Americans boycotted the Games in 1980 over the Soviet Union鈥檚 invasion of Afghanistan. 

It was an unfortunate set of circumstances. Rodgers kept training, kept running 鈥� at one point during his career, he ran 150 miles a week 鈥� and kept winning.

鈥淓very runner has their story,鈥� Rodgers said. 鈥淓very runner could do a book and I always say that because some of the stories are mind boggling.鈥�

Rodgers included. After all, he made the insane look normal.

It鈥檚 why Kelley didn鈥檛 think twice about using his name alongside Naismith or Jordan. Certainly not in the context of marathon running.

鈥淗e made a marathon something to dream about,鈥� Kelley said. 鈥淛ust like anyone dreaming about being an athlete, and before Bill, you couldn鈥檛 (dream) when it came to marathons. It just wouldn鈥檛 have crossed your mind. And the thing is, he鈥檚 just a normal guy.鈥�

David Glovach covers New Mexico 近距离内射合集 and other sports for the Journal. Reach him at dglovach@abqjournal.com or via X .