RunningStateOfTheSport: October 2026

In this episode, we interview Bill Rodgers on the 50th anniversary of his historic win in the first 5-borough New York City Marathon of 1976. On that occasion, Bill beat two-time Olympic medalist Frank Shorter, and helped launch the urban running boom that has mushroomed ever since to become the global World Marathon Majors phenomenon.

Bill talks about a wide range of topics--under-the-table payments in that "shamateurism" period, how New York represented his redemption after a 40th place finish in the Montreal Olympic Marathon, where he broke away from Shorter, and how he managed to run a fast 2:10:10 on a tough course in a pre-everything-we-have-today era.

He also offers his views on the explosive growth of global marathon running, and why he has always welcomed everyone--from the pioneer women and those who followed them to the increasing numbers of participants who are his age (78) and older.

Once widely known as the "King of the Roads," Bill Rodgers still follows the sport passionately, races occasionally, and is widely beloved by all who have met him or read about him through the decades.

For more about Bill, follow his Facebook page.

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As a freshman at Yale in the spring of 1974, Dan Schlesinger broke the school's record in the 6-mile run. That record was previously held by a guy named Frank Shorter. Remember this for your next running trivia game.

Schlesinger did much more in his running career, and also on the long, twisting path that eventually led to his current work as a fine artist.

In the 1982 NYC Marathon, Schlesinger came out of seemingly nowhere to finish third in 2:11:54. He was beaten only by Alberto Salazar and Rodolfo Gomez. The next spring Schlesinger placed eighth at Boston with a personal best time of 2:11:37.

That seemed to make him a strong contender in the 1984 Olympic Marathon Trials, and Schlesinger was super-fit, as he describes in this podcast. But sometimes things don't always work out the way you hope. He had similar bad luck in preparing for the 1988 Trials.

Then he got on with life, finding a job as a translator in Korea and gaining his legal degree at Harvard. This career path didn't excite Schlesinger, so he began dabbling in various art forms.

One thing led to the next, and he eventually gained the assignment to illustrate all the Harry Potter books in Japan. These volumes sold more than 20 million copies, and launched Schlesinger into the fulltime art work he has pursued ever since.

Indeed, his newest project is an illustrated book out in mid October that's called Injury Blues And The Red Running Shoes. It's personal, colorful, humorous at times, and intended to inspire injured runners to believe they'll soon be back on the road again. Like Dan himself.

To see a portfolio of Schlesinger's artwork, go here.