A sub-4:00 miler in college at the University of Michigan, Greg Meyer moved to Boston in the early 1980s to learn distance running from Bill Rodgers, coach Bill Squires, and the Greater Boston Track Club clan. The lessons took several years to stick, but paid off handsomely when Meyer won the 1983 Boston Marathon in 2:09:00. That makes him the last American male to have won Boston.
The 1983 Boston was amazing in other ways: 84 guys, mostly Americans, ran sub-2:20, and 164 ran sub-2:25.
Meyer, 57, will run Boston on April 15 with three of his children, and remains active in the sport as elite athlete coordinator at several major Michigan road races. He lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he grew up, and serves as vice president for institutional advancement at Aquinas College.
Do you have several key memories of your Boston 1983 race?
Greg Meyer: It’s strange but one of the sharpest–I can see it clearly right now, I can see it–was of a dog fight that nearly happened right in front of the lead pack. We were coming up to the 10-mile mark, and there was a Doberman Pinscher on one side of the street and a German Shepherd on the other side. The Doberman got loose and raced across the road at the Shepherd, so the Shepherd’s owner let go of his leash so his dog could defend himself. The whole pack just swerved to the other side of the road, and kept on going.
I also remember my friend and training partner Tim Donovan running out of the crowd to my side with a little over a mile to go. He was going crazy. He ran alongside me, yelling, “You gotta f…ing run thatta way.” I was actually feeling quite calm at that point–I had a decent lead–and I remember thinking, “Timmy, you should get out of here or they’re going to come after you.”
Lastly, and I know this sounds corny, but when I turned the final corner and headed toward the finish line, I remember thinking, “Greg, your life just got different.” And it did.
Where did you break away? How did you win Boston that day?
GM: I was really fit in 1983. I had done some good races in the last month–the Cherry Blossom 10 Mile in the low 46:00s, a solo 10,000 on the track in 27:54–so I thought I was ready. Benji Durden pushed the pace through the first Newton hills, but I got away from him on Heartbreak, so I was alone the last 5 miles. I felt good, but you’re always worried that someone’s coming, so I kept checking over my shoulder. Finally, with about 3 miles to go, someone on the press truck said, “Relax, there’s no one in sight.”
So I did, I relaxed. I mean, I didn’t start jogging, but I slowed down maybe 20 seconds a mile. I figured I might as well protect my lead, and savor the victory. I probably could have run low 2:08s if I had kept pushing, but we never ran for time back then. It was all about the victory. In all my years with Bill Rodgers and coach Bill Squires, I don’t remember that we ever talked about time. We only talked about going for the win. We talked about what we could do to crush our opponents out on the course.
When I went to the line in Hopkinton that morning, I didn’t know if I could win or not. But I was confident I would make some people hurt that day.
You came from a strong, successful college track background. What did it take to move up to the marathon?
GM: A couple of years of hard, consistent endurance training. And then a solid year of uninterrupted, focused training leading up to 1983.
I ran Boston in 1981, and they buried me somewhere out near the second hill in Newton. But I just kept doing the work. Squires would have us do these tough 20- to 22-mile fartlek runs out and back on the middle miles of the Boston course. Some days we would average low 5:00 [mile]s for the run, and the hard stuff was much faster than that. It was a big advantage to race on a course we knew so well, where we had built up so much confidence, like a golfer on his home course.
The 1983 Boston is famous for your fast run, for Joan Benoit Samuelson’s world-record 2:22:43, and for many other fast times. What was in the air that day?
GM: The weather was just perfect. I remember that it was overcast and high-40s, maybe low-50s. There might have been a little spritz of rain now and then. There was a light breeze coming in over my left shoulder. It was gentle. It wasn’t like the discarded water cups were being blown along the road in front of us. It was just a dream running day. I thought the weather was perfect.
You and the last Boston winner who is an American, Lisa Rainsberger (the 1985 Boston winner), are both from Michigan. Jason Hartmann finished fourth last year. Dathan Ritzenhein’s not too shabby. Jason and Ritz were high-shool teammates in Michigan. Then there’s Brian Sell and Desi Davila. What’s with the Michigan-Boston connection?
GM: I think the Midwestern work ethic plays out very well in distance running. There was Craig Virgin just before me, and Herb Lindsay. Many of us are blue-collar types. We understand that it’s all about going out there, and putting in the work.
Ritzenhein’s someone who’s got the talent to win a major someday if he stays healthy. I recall that he’s a good hill runner, so he could be a factor at Boston if he ever chose to run here. Hartmann wasn’t expected to do much last year, but it was a tough day, and that played to his strengths. You don’t expect a taller, heavier guy to do well at Boston, but he ran so smart.
I can’t not ask you the obvious question: Why no American winners since you and Lisa?
GM: It’s harder now. It’s absolutely much, much tougher. When I won Boston, most of the money was still on the track, and that’s what the top runners focused on. Now the situation has reversed. The money is in the marathon, so naturally that’s where all the talent is going.
Americans can still win. Guys like Ryan Hall and Dathan and Galen Rupp, if he moves up, are as good as anyone. But they have to dedicate a year to one big goal race. That’s hard to do today, with all the paydays along the way.
I think Ryan could have won Boston in 2011 if he had run a little smarter, with more confidence. He didn’t have to make a statement by going to the front and running so fast so early on. He says he needs that to build himself up, but he might have had a shot at winning if he had run against the field instead of towing them along.
Desi should be the model for everyone. Look at her race two years ago. She came to Boston believing she could win. She trained for it, she focused completely, and she competed for the victory. She didn’t get it, but she just about ran the Kenyan girls into the ground.
There have been some drug busts among Kenyan marathoners in the last few months. Do you have any reason to believe that Kenyan doping has been widespread over the last decade or two?
GM: I just don’t know. I think doping is a threat to our sport, especially with more access to more designer drugs, and much more money in the sport. I never saw a Kenyan runner using drugs, but I wouldn’t bet against it. The paydays are a big deal to East African runners, and they’ve got more and more coaches and agents and doctors working on their teams.
I have my suspicions about certain pockets, and that includes groups in this country. It’s just human nature that if something has a high value, some will cheat to get it. But among most of the top runners I see in Boston and Chicago, I don’t have the impression that they’re doing anything illegal.
Is Galen Rupp the future of American marathoning?
GM: On paper, he’s the guy. He’s already shown that he has the ability to run at the highest level with anyone around the world. His coach [Alberto Salazar] understands the training and drive it takes to excel in the marathon. I think Galen will go into his first marathon the way Alberto did: He’ll be in it to win.
At the end of the day, you never know about the transition from 10-K to the marathon. Galen’s got the tools and the right coach, and he’s obviously not afraid to prepare for big challenges. You never know about the marathon, but in my gut, I think Galen can do it.
How’s your fitness and what’s your Boston race plan?
GM: I had so much fun doing it five years ago with my kids Jay and Nicolle that I’m really looking forward to it again. And another son, Dan, is going to join us this time. I run three or four times a week with a couple of little sore spots. Not running injuries, but occasional back issues, stuff like that.
The last two years I’ve been the coach of the John Hancock runners team, Hancock employees who run Boston. That’s been great for me. I’m supposed to be helping them, but the truth is I’ve used them to get myself in shape, particularly on a couple of 20-milers the last month in Boston and Toronto. It’s been great fun, and they’re wonderful people.
I think I’m ready to go 9:00 [mile] pace. I’d like to finish under 4:00, as Jay and I did five years ago.
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