The “On The Road” column in Track & Field News for February 1982 opened with this note.
If action in the first month of the year is any indication, 1982 is going to be a very hot road campaign, and just in the U.S.
Domestically, Alberto Salazar continues to knit a mantle of invincibility, while marathon action at home and abroad has already contributed to a list which contains 12 men under 2:13 and 9 women under 2:40.
Salazar Rules Something New
Miami, January 9 – The Race Of The Americas was the first road 10K Alberto Salazar has taken “seriously.”
The result was as might be expected – when Alberto is serious, the rest of the field begins thinking about finishing second.
His 28:04 win on this three-loop course could well be an American Record, once the certification question is answered. If so, this would knock eight seconds off Thom Hunt’s mark, and also equal Craig Virgin’s American best on a point-to-point course.
“It was some field,” (thank goodness he didn’t say some kind of field) said Bill Rodgers, who described Salazar’s performance as “Virenesque.”
Jon Sinclair, who ended up 12th in 29:39, agreed. “I’m not surprised that Salazar won, and I don’t think it says anything about the field that Alberto won by so much. It was a real good field.”
How good was it? It was so good that the first twenty men finished within 30:00, despite temperatures in the upper 70s. It was so good Nick Rose was beaten by twenty seconds and Mike Musyoki by thirty-five.
And Billy? “It’s a disgusting feeling to be beaten by a minute in a 10K.”
During the first mile Alberto seemed like any other honeymooning 2:08 marathoner. Accompanied by some twenty positive thinkers, he passed through in 4:28. Sinclair was setting the pace at 2M (8:50), but by 3M only Musyoki and Rose hadn’t yet settled for anything less than first.
The Cuban-born Salazar, a hero in a city full of Cuban exiles, began to get heroic in the fourth mile. His surge gained forty meters almost immediately.
“One minute me and Mike and Alberto were together,” Rose recounted, “and suddenly – well, not so suddenly – Alberto picked it up and he was gone.”
He was gone virtue of a 4:14 split. That’ll do it every time, although Musyoki and Rose blamed the heat and Rose was disturbed by the gusting wind.
“I could see it was starting to break open,” said Salazar. “They were struggling to stay up with me. I was surprised I was able to pull away so fast and easy.” He kept pulling away to victory. The rest of the stars ran for self-respect.
As Rodgers – who finished eighth in 29:07 – put it, “It wasn’t really a race for me. You have to understand, if you’re that far back, it’s not a race.” He concluded, “I guess this might mean that Alberto is the best long distance runner in the world.”
West German Charlotte Teske was the best woman distance runner in town. Her 32:50 proved to be too much (not to mention too fast) for a talented group which included Briton Wendy Smith (33:03), the illustrious Shea sisters, Julie at 33:56 and Mary at 34:35, and Canadian Jacqueline Gareau (35:07).