In Boston, you don’t feel disabled, you feel super-abled. I’ve actually heard people there say ‘Man, I wish I was him’ behind my back. – Scot Hollonbeck
Bob Hall knows the pain of the marathon
First time I remember seeing Bob Hall was at a party, maybe 1979, which means it wasn’t the first time I had seen him. Because he was standing up against the wall, just like me, a different wall, but he was standing and I was surprised.
Didn’t know he could do that. Struck me as strange.
As did first the idea of racing against wheelchairs or with wheelchairs, especially the first five miles out of Hopkinton.
I get it now. So, let me start off by leaving you with this. Nina Kuscsik and sexism in ’72. Bob Hall and adaptive sports in ’77. Say what you will – “too slow!” – the Boston Marathon has contributed greatly to the advancement of human rights in the sport and the world.
Don’t just write that as someone looking for four complimentary nights at the Copley Plaza. Mean it. I’m as woke as the BAA.
Bob, Hall, the Boston Marathon first sanctioned wheelchair entrant and current wheelchair division coordinator, next to the granite post of the wheelchair athlete located at the Boston Marathon’s centennial monument near the finish line. Photo by Joseph Huber, Palaestra.
When did you start running and why?
1972 – I found a peer group in which I could be challenged and challenge in sports which I loved. Disabled people with whom I could compete on a fair and equal basis.
Toughest opponent and why?
Politics because the leaders of disabled sports were able-bodied and controlled who advanced.
Most memorable run and why?
Winning the National Wheelchair Mile in 1974. Clocked 6:51, breaking the existing record by seven seconds or so. It showed me that dedication and perseverance pays off.
Biggest disappointment and why?
Trying to change attitudes in particular. I had to go to court to participate in The New York City Marathon.
What would you do differently if you could do it again? Why?
I wouldn’t change anything. It was always difficult but I wanted it on my terms.
Favorite philosopher? Quote?
Went to Boston State, where I didn’t take philosophy but had a great coach. Bill Squires taught me everything about track and road racing. Especially strategy.
Racing the New York City Marathon, after not taking “No” for an answer
Special song of the era?
Jim Croce – “Workin’ at the Car Wash Blues”
Favorite comedian?
George Carlin
What was your ‘best stretch of running’?
1974-1984
And so why do you think you hit that level at that time?
Age, ability and advancement in equipment.
What was your edge?
Didn’t allow anyone to know what I was thinking.
What WERE you thinking?
How to win. Analyzing everything. Fueling my determination. Paying attention to my competitors. Surrounded by the sights and the sounds. Racing.
What supplementary exercises did you do?
Weight training.
What was your toughest injury and how did you deal with it?
No injuries until old age.
Old age is its own injury.
Bob in the midst of the fray. Falmouth. 1981
Adaptive Sports Hall Of Fame. Bob Hall Inducted in 1991.
“Bob Hall is a true wheelchair racing legend. One of my first racing wheelchairs was even a ‘Hall’ model.” – Marcel Hug
Bob Hall is known as the father of wheelchair racing. All participants today involved in road racing have Bob to thank for breaking that barrier. Disabled at an early age by polio, he pioneered wheelchair racing when he participated in the Boston Marathon in 1975 at the tender age of 24.
He had approached the Boston Athletic Association before the race, asking for permission to take part. Although not the very first wheelchair competitor (Vietnam veteran Eugene Roberts had raced five years earlier. finishing in 7:07), Bob was given permission and also told that if he could finish in under three hours, he’d receive a medal.
Bob crossed the finish line at a mark of two hours and fifty-eight minutes. 2:58. It was Hall’s time that got the attention of the Boston Athletic Association, helping them make the decision to finally recognize those in wheelchairs as official entrants.
In 1977 Hall smashed his course record to win with a time of 2:40:10.
That was also the year the Boston Athletic Association started the tradition of having the wheelchair athletes start fifteen minutes (11:45 am) ahead of the non-disabled runners, thus avoiding the crowded start and possible injuries to non-disabled runners. This format has been sustained to this day.
Source: UnitedSport.org
No longer worried about mechanical mayhem and chaotic crashes, 1977, think the entire world bought into the idea of wheelchair marathoning. Thank you, Bob Hall. Thank you, Boston.
1987 was gnarly.
Wheelchairs can reach speeds of 30-40 mph at the start of a downhill race. Boston is ineligible for world record consideration for a reason. Long downhill at the start when you are fresh and antsy, other downhills when you are running out of gas and the going gets tough.
In 1987 the wheelchairs started aggressively on wet, steep pavement. At the bottom of the first hill, nine athletes fell to the pavement after either hitting another wheelchair or losing their balance. Nobody could have seen this coming.
A controlled start for the first mile was instituted to prevent crashes in subsequent years.
Bob Hall poster above mirror at Bill Rodgers Running Center ’77
Bob’s contributions to wheelchair racing didn’t end on the race course. In 1978 Hall designed his first racing wheelchair and founded a new company, Hall’s Wheels. It was there he made handcrafted wheelchairs, measured to fit each customer, that weighed between fourteen and sixteen pounds—about half the weight of the wheelchair he’d used in his first marathon.
“When I first started racing, I didn’t start out to be pioneer,” said Hall. “I did it purely for myself as an athlete to be the best of a given distance. As it played out, it became much bigger than that.”
His innovative designs took wheelchair racing to another level. Modern day wheelchair athletes, whether they be on a high school track or Paralympic venue have Bob to thank for continually pushing the envelope to design a chair that would provide the athlete, along with dedicated training, the best possible outcome.
Source: Afterburner Communications
Bob Hall’s early “sculpture” is in the Museum Of Modern Art’s Permanent Collection. Wow!
The Racing Wheelchair introduced innovations that have had an impact on users of every type of wheelchair. This example, designed in 1986, features a lightweight frame of aircraft-steel tubing, a speedometer, and a tachometer. The wheels, adapted from racing bicycles, are angled for optimal arm movement and enhanced speed. The red and black colors give it a sporty, sleek look. MoMA first showed Hall’s Racing Wheelchair in the 1989 exhibition Designs for Independent Living, which presented outstanding examples of well-designed, mass-produced objects for the elderly and the physically disabled.
Publication excerpt from The Museum of Modern Art, MoMA HIghlights since 1980, New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 2007, p. 83.
“I’m proud to be a part of the advancement of sport through design of equipment and the recognition of disabled athleticism,” Bob told me. “No need to be humble.”
Then he remembered some other highlights.
“I was a Paralympian and won a 1500 meter race, National Wheelchair Athletic Association Hall of fame member, and Boston’s Disability Law Center’s Distinguished Citizen award.”
