The Boston Marathon has changed dramatically in the last 30 to 40 years, but some things have remained the same–and that’s a good thing. Let’s call it tradition.
The field is much bigger, the start time has moved from noon to mid-morning, there are far more female runners, footwear and fueling have made massive advances, and the digital revolution is everywhere present.
On the other hand, the start, the finish, and the course remain essentially as they have been since 1897. Here’s something else that hasn’t changed, and this might surprise you or even shock you: American runners haven’t gotten any faster.
Analyzing The All-Time Best Americans At Boston
I base this conclusion on a few stats I pulled from the Boston Marathon Media Guide the other day. First I looked for the 10 all-time fastest American performers (both male and female). Then I divided the male and female lists into two groups: Those who ran before super shoes, and those who ran with super shoes.
For those runners who competed at Boston before the super-shoe era, I adjusted their times by 1.5%, making them faster. I picked this number after reading several scientific reviews that put improvements in the 1% to 2.5% range.
The effect of this analysis was more noticeable among American males than females. This is what you’d expect since females got a later start in marathon running, but are now improving faster than the men. Thus, they should have quicker times in recent (super-shoe) years, as they do.
Nonetheless, here’s what I found: The all time three fastest American women ran in the pre-super-shoe era and for men, the top seven.
Here is a table showing the fastest American women at Boston:
Here is a table showing the fastest American men at Boston:
Okay, But What’s The Explanation?
Most of us would have expected that American runners would be getting faster at the Boston Marathon. Since that isn’t the case, I reached out to a handful of the top males from bygone decades to ask what made them so fast. Here are their explanations.
Ryan Hall
“First, I have to say that the new super shoes make a big difference. I’ve tested myself on the treadmill in Nike Alphaflys vs the shoes I wore at Boston–the Asics Hyper Speed. My heart rate is 3 to 5 beats slower in Alphaflys, which is just the cardio benefit. But I’d argue the biggest benefit of super shoes is the way you can load the crap out of them when running downhills.
“The muscular benefits are huge. Imagine how fresh your legs are coming down Heartbreak Hill in a super shoe vs regular shoes. That is where runners can fly now like we couldn’t before.
“I ran fast at Boston because I was comfortable out front–I even preferred it. It’s not a paced marathon like most others. I ran well by starting fast, and keeping things rolling along.”
Greg Meyer
“I think the big difference was psychological. At the time when I competed, we were all in it to win it. I’m not sure the American men believe they can do that now. Also, we had Shorter and Rodgers just a few years ahead of us. They were Olympic gold medalists or the best in the world. It gave all us other Americans a big confidence boost.”
Ron Tabb
“In the late 70s and early 80s, we had so much American depth in the marathon. Just off the top of my head: Frank Shorter, Bill Rodgers, Alberto Salazar, Greg Meyer, Randy Thomas, Dick Beardsley, Tony Sandoval, Jeff Wells, Bob Hodge, Gary Bjorklund, Tom Fleming, Benji Durden, Kirk Pfeiffer, Don Kardong, John Lodwick, Ed Mendoza, Kyle Heffner, Craig Virgin.
“There was a lot of regional support all over the country: Oregon, Greater Boston, Boulder, Atlanta, Minnesota, San Diego, Club Northwest. All we runners from all these places wanted to see how fast we could run, and to make an Olympic team.”
Bill Rodgers
“Frank Shorter was a huge influence. We all saw him win an Olympic gold medal and then a silver that would have been gold except for the Russian on drugs. Frank inspired all of us to reach for high goals.
“For me, the Greater Boston Track Club was key. I had just been fired from my job because I was trying to organize a union, and then my only real possession–my motorcycle–was stolen. At Greater Boston we had such team spirit. Coach Bill Squires was such an energizing force. He would talk, and talk, and talk, and sometimes we didn’t know what he was saying, but we understood that he was totally supportive of all of us.
“Squires was a great miler himself, but he had to learn about the marathon. He mixed things up a lot. We did hard fartlek in the middle of 22-milers. When someone like Greg Meyer moved to town, we started doing the hill repeats that he had learned in Michigan. We experimented until we got things right.”
What About One, Two, Or 10 Years From Now?
None of this detracts from the excellence of today’s American runners. On April 21, Conner Mantz or his training partner Clayton Young could catch a good weather day, and ride it to the fastest-ever American male marathon at Boston. The current American best can’t last long.
The best American females, like Emma Bates and Taylor Roe, will no doubt keep improving at a rapid clip. Roe hasn’t even run a marathon yet, but she broke 50 minutes in the recent Cherry Blossom 10-mile to set an American record, and she’s running the Saturday 5K in Boston. You can bet she’ll be an eager, attentive spectator on Monday.
But those runners from decades ago?
They were damn tough and fast themselves, even without super shoes. When we look at their performances–like Rodgers in 1979 or Samuelson in 1983–we remember that the Boston Marathon has always motivated American runners to give it their all.
