Hundreds of runners — young families and elite athletes alike — will gather at the starting line of The Summit Classic in Kalispell in a couple weeks and participate in one of the most popular 5K and 10K races in the valley. The sixth annual event on June 20 is among the nearly 30 local races this summer, reflecting the widespread culture of staying active in Montana and beyond.
Fittingly, among the racers in Kalispell will be Bill Rodgers, one of the greatest distance runners in American history and a catalyst of the original running boom of the 1970s.
Rodgers, 67, is traveling from his home near Boston to experience the scenic splendor of Northwest Montana and to participate in The Summit Classic, an event similar to other community-oriented races he likes to attend across the U.S. every year.
“I’m really looking forward to it,” he said last week. “I know you’re in a beautiful area.”
Rodgers has retired from running marathons but still tackles “shorter distances,” such as 10K races. He was looking for an excuse to visit Montana and had a friend who was once coached by Brad Roy, the executive director of The Summit. Rodgers heard about The Summit Classic and contacted event organizers to inquire.
Now he’s westward bound.
“This should be good, even though I’m a little nervous about the elevation. You’re at 3,000 feet. That’s higher than what I’m used to here at sea level,” he said.
It will be Rodgers’ first time in this corner of the state. His only other experience in Big Sky Country was for an 8K in Great Falls years ago.
“This will be my return as a slow runner,” he said, laughing.
Of course, Rodgers doesn’t need to prove anything.
The Connecticut native is a four-time winner of both the Boston and New York City marathons. He broke the American record at Boston twice, in 1975 and 1979. In 1977 he won the Fukuoka Marathon in Japan, becoming the first and only runner to ever hold the championship in all three major marathons at the same time. He qualified for the 1976 U.S. Olympic team and competed in Montreal. He would have competed in a second Olympics in 1980 if it were not for the U.S. boycott over the USSR invasion of Afghanistan. Rodgers was inducted into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1999.
Among his many accomplishments, Rodgers provided inspiration to a new generation of runners. He and his friend, the late Steve Prefontaine, are considered among the small group of elite American runners who became icons of the sport and helped it grow into a mainstream activity starting in the 1970s.
Today running is more popular than ever. Last year a record number of people finished marathons in the U.S., 550,637, according to a new Gallup survey released last week. In 1976, there were an estimated 25,000 finishers. There were over 1,200 marathons last year, another record.
“The sport is still a booming sport in so many different ways. It’s all good because you have fun with the sport and you get out there with your friends and you feel good afterward,” Rodgers said. “We’re meant to move, I really believe that.”
Growing up in Connecticut in the 1960s, Rodgers was 15 years old when he started running with his brother Charlie and their friend and joined the small cross-country and track teams at Newington High School.
“I remember our early days of training, we ran in a big field. We didn’t have a real track,” Rodgers said. “My coach would put a line down and make five lanes. We had great fun.”
At the time, running was still very much a niche sport.
“People would say, ‘Why are you running? For your health?’ It was a joke, but now we really know it is a great side benefit,” he said.
Rodgers’ best finish in high school was third in the two-mile race and his best time was 9:36. Although he didn’t rank among the best young runners, he had teammates and coaches who motivated him and inspired him to stay with the sport and push harder.
“When you find that coach or supporter or family member, then you’re ready. Nothing’s going to stop you,” Rodgers said.
Rodgers kept running and earned a spot competing at Wesleyan University in nearby Middletown, Connecticut. It was there that he met Amby Burfoot, a roommate and teammate who won the Boston Marathon in 1968.
“It sounds corny but he had this dream to win Boston and he pulled it off. I trained with him and learned a lot. He motivated me a lot as did my high school coach,” Rodgers said.
He began setting his own ambitious goals and he trained everyday.
He felt ready to chase his dream in 1973 and competed in his first Boston Marathon. He didn’t finish, echoing his famous quote, “The marathon can humble you.” But instead of being discouraged, he trained even harder. He returned the next year and finished 14th.
Then, in 1975, Rodgers captured the nation’s attention. He won the Boston Marathon in 2:09:55, shattering the course record and the American record for 26.2 miles. The success carried on from there. He became an Olympian and won the Boston Marathon for three straight years, from 1978 to 1980.
The media coverage of Rodgers’ success spanned the globe, building on the youthful charisma of Prefontaine and other notable runners of the era.
Over the years Rodgers ran sub 2:15 in 28 marathons and set several distance records, including the world record in the 25K in 1979, 1:14:11.
He ran his last Boston Marathon in 2009 but still participates in smaller races across the U.S. He enjoys meeting new people along the way and sharing his passion for the sport.
“I think when people see their friends and family go running by, it inspires them. It might take a while but the door is always open,” he said.
“It’s a sport that is challenging but we all improve in it. You always improve.”
Now, as he prepares to race in Kalispell, the prospect of setting records and breaking the tape is far from his mind. As the saying goes, it’s all about the journey, not the destination.
“I’m really excited to see the countryside and to meet other runners,” he said.
“I still really enjoy exploring the sport. And running outside you see the world from a different perspective in a lot of ways.”
For more information about The Summit Classic, visit www.kalispellregional.org/summit/events/summit-classic-5k-10k-walk-jog-run.