In this excerpt from the archives of my old Runners Digest Radio show in Boston, we go on-the-run with marathon legend Bill Rodgers, four-time Boston and New York City Marathon champion of the mid-to-late 1970s. During our run Bill talks about his transition from ex-college runner to resurrected marathon runner.
Runner’s Digest
Bill Rodgers, 2:09:55 American Record, Boston 1975
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In my previous post, THE FESTIVALIZATION OF SPORT, I suggested today’s young seem, on the whole, less rigorously competitive than previous generations. There are far more options these days, but perhaps part of it has to do with the stresses today’s youth are under as a matter of every day experience — not to mention how the expectations of yesteryear and those of today do not nearly match up with one another either.
| HOW DOES IT FEEL?
In the aftermath of World War II many nations had to dig out of devastation, left with the psychic remains of shattered lives. My mother was one who saw her world destroyed, but was fortunate to find refuge in America, which sat alone and free. This gave her Baby Boom children the freedom to dedicate themselves to youthful ways well into their adult years. While the youth of today remain at home much longer , Boomers had the luxury to remain more infantile longer. When I moved from St. Louis to Boston in August of 1973, I shared a two-bedroom, one bath apartment with three friends. We paid $160/month, $40 each. I had just left Washington University in St. Louis, a well-regarded liberty arts institution. In looking through some old papers in the attic of my parent’s house 40 years later I found a receipt for my final semester from the early 1970s, $1250. Today, the same apartment that we paid $160 for in Boston is now $1525/month, while a semester at Wash. U. in St. Louis is $22,420 and rising. |
Could this be why American kids in the 21st century seek less strident forms of release?
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