Salazar. Benoit. Falmouth. 1982.

The introduction to my “On The Road” section of Track & Field News (September 1982) was written probably by Jon Hendershott, who was always very good to me. Nicely sets up the tone of the opening piece.

Early-summer road racing was missing one important ingredient: Alberto Salazar. In Europe for much of June and July, he returned to New England in August and once again made many of the great roadies run for second place.

Salazar Sets Falmouth Record

[The official race results say the temperature was 77 degrees with 70% humidity.]

Falmouth, Massachusetts, August 15 – The only time Alberto Salazar was in danger of losing the 10th Falmouth/Perrier 7.1-miler was the night before the race. His family couldn’t decide if it was a Virginia bug (picked up doing training in the heat), or a Massachusetts bug (maybe absorbed at his folks’ house). Maybe it was something he ate.

Regardless of the cause, Salazar was ill on the eve of his only summertime road race. But he awoke on race day with a sound stomach and a smile on his face. His gastrointestinal malady was a memory, so the only people in serious trouble were his competitors.

Actually, Salazar had no competition. His 31:54 broke his own course record by two seconds and beat Craig Virgin by nearly twenty (32:12). Virgin’s clocking makes him the route’s second fastest performer ever. But that ain’t good enough against the 24-year-old Salazar, who averaged under 4:30 pace in a solo performance.

Not bad for a guy who has lost more races this year than he has won – and don’t forget that, because you can be darn sure Alberto hasn’t.

“There’s always a chance you can lose,” said Salazar, after a race in which there was no such opportunity. “I lost races in Europe in the last 400 meters. Nobody pulled away from me; it was just my lack of a finishing kick.”

Referring to his track races. Salazar continued, “But I feel I’m as strong as anyone in the world. If I improve another fifteen seconds and run 27:10, they’re simply not going to be there to outkick me.”

No one was there at Falmouth. Florida’s Keith Brantly made a temerarious dash away at the gun and cruised a 4:23 opening mile. Young Brantly’s rashness quickly caught up with him. (He faded to 25th in 34:04.) Meanwhile the competition settled into the expected struggle between superstars Salazar, Rod Dixon, Virgin and Mike Musyoki. Up-and-coming Mark Curp tagged along for the ride.

After a 9:02 2M and 13:36 3M, it was adios muchachos for the Cuban-born Salazar. “I was surprised to break away as early as I did,” said Salazar. “But those guys made a mistake in letting me go. Once I got away, they wouldn’t catch me.”

Salazar went away just past 5K. The only challenge came from a side stitch soon after 4M. But he bested that foe, too, cruising past 10,000 meters in 28:12. “Having run 27:30 or faster three times this year, 28:12 felt like a jog,” said Salazar, without his tongue in his cheek. “If my win last year was a nine on a scale of ten in terms of effort, today was about a seven..”

[At the 1978 Falmouth Road Race after a fade to 10th, Alberto collapsed at the finish with a temperature of 107 degrees Fahrenheit (41.7 °C) and was read his last rites. Apparently, prematurely. I am guessing he rates that a ten for effort.]

The Dixon-Virgin-Musyoki triumvirate ran most of the race together, each waiting for the other to move. Dixon rushed past the other two with less than a mile remaining, but Virgin was able to reel him back in to take second by four seconds. Dixon (32:16) held off Musyoki by a second.

No one could hold off Joan Benoit.

Grete Waitz might have tried, but she had withdrawn ten days earlier due to a stress fracture.

Benoit still competed against Waitz, or at least her course record (a rather impressive 37:13). That loud, shattering noise one heard when Benoit crossed the finish in 26:34 was Grete’s course best falling, as well as the rest of the field succumbing (Dianne Rodger was more than a minute behind in second).

Benoit’s 5:09 pace isn’t shabby for a woman who had surgery on both Achilles tendons last December 28. Get the name of that doctor.

Said Benoit, I really don’t think about winning or records until after the race. I just go out there and give it all I have.”

The 106th finisher out of some six thousand (6000) entrants, Joan Benoit gave Falmouth just what it deserved – her best.

The best runner in the race – Alberto Salazar – gave it genius.

Results (men)

Finished	Time	Flags	Given name	Surname	Alternate name	Citizenship	Birth date	Prize money	Actions
1	31:53.3		Alberto	Salazar		USA	07 Aug 1958
2	32:13		Craig	Virgin		USA	02 Aug 1955
3	32:17		Rod	Dixon		NZL	13 Jul 1950
4	32:18		Michael	Musyoki		KEN	28 May 1956
5	32:47		Mark	Curp		USA	05 Jan 1959
6	32:54		Dan	Schlesinger		USA	10 Jun 1955
7	33:07		Sosthenes	Bitok		KEN	23 Mar 1957
8	33:11		George	Malley		USA	28 Jul 1955
9	33:13		Robert	Hodge		USA	03 Aug 1955
10	33:14		Gary	Fanelli		USA	24 Oct 1950
11	33:17		Paul	Cummings		USA	05 Sep 1953
12	33:21		George	Buckheit		USA	26 Jun 1957
13	33:30		John	Glidewell		USA	02 Jan 1957
14	33:32		Sal	Vega		USA	04 Sep 1957
15	33:33		William	Haviland		USA	11 Oct 1950
16	33:34		Andy	Palmer		USA	26 Nov 1953
17	33:37		Dan	Dillon		USA	25 Jun 1957
18	33:40		Adrian	Leek		WAL	22 Jan 1958
19	33:43		Dan	Predmore		USA	10 Sep 1958
20	33:46		Terry	Baker		USA	24 Nov 1955

Me And Alberto Salazar

Results (women)

Finished	Time	Flags	Given name	Surname	Alternate name	Citizenship	Birth date	Prize money	Actions
1	36:33.7		Joan	Samuelson	Benoit	USA	16 May 1957
2	37:42		Dianne	Rodger	Zorn	NZL	09 Nov 1956
3	38:04		Debbie	Eide		USA	31 Jan 1956
4	38:37		Susan	Schneider		USA	03 Aug 1956
5	38:47		Jacqueline	Gareau		CAN	10 Mar 1953
6	38:50		Laurie	Binder		USA	10 Aug 1947
7	38:57		Nancy	Conz		USA	01 May 1957
8	38:59		Linda	Begley	McLennan	USA	05 Apr 1961
9	39:03		Suzanne	Girard	Eberle	USA	30 Nov 1962

Database updated with data from 16 Oct 2020 20:54:19.