06/03/2026
Its Global Running Day, and we'd like to salute a man who has truly helped to make running a global sport.
Given that running is the most fundamental sport that there is-the first to the line in a footrace wins-and was the cornerstone of the first ancient Olympic games in 776 BC, this might seem like an overstatement.
It is not.
Bill Rodgers' impact on this sport, in fact, perhaps cannot BE overstated. Along with other distance running pioneers, his presence in the sport in the "first running boom" in the 1970's inspired millions to take up the sport, and indeed it was largely thanks to Rodgers that the venue to compete exists for so many ordinary people. His dominance of road racing in the 70's and into the 80's earned him the nickname "The King of the Roads". He won the Boston and New York City Marathons 4 times each, earning a place in American history textbooks, but it was his prolific racing and legendary duels with long-time rival Olympic gold medalist Frank Shorter and others that helped road races outside of big-city marathons become the multi-thousand person events that they are today.
In our opinion though, the most awesome part of Rodgers' running story is that it's still be written! That's right, Rodgers is still actively competing-albeit a bit slower nowadays-and has been an ambassador of our sport for decades.
Bill Rodgers started running in 1963. That is as close to the 19th century as it is to today...
And yet he's STILL rolling. If you look up "the retirement of Bill Rodgers" you'll come up with nothing. That's because it never happened. Rodgers continues to travel to running events all over the country to races and running events to this very day. Last summer, he was in Toledo, Ohio for "On the Run with Bill Rodgers", a special event organized by Gaynor Train, our partner that runs our training groups and group runs right here in Santa Fe.
Check out our latest blog post for a recap of the event: https://runsantafe.com/post/on-the-run-with-bill-rodgers
Then, sign up for more of the same right here in Santa Fe! That's right, Bill will be coming to Santa Fe to join in our "High Desert Miles - 25 Years of The Running Hub" celebration on Saturday, July 11th. It'll start off with the High Desert Miles Group Run in the morning, followed by a big parking lot party in the afternoon. Register for the run for for just $15, or it's included in the price of signup for both our High Desert Half Marathon Training Group Santa Fe and High Desert Half Marathon Training Group Rio Rancho.
Come meet the guy that truly helped put the "global" in Global Running Day!!
