October 23rd, 1983
Race Day At The NYC Marathon!
Marathoners experienced wind and rain for the first time over the five-borough course.
It also brought about another first in American Marathoning: an African frontrunner! Tanzanian Gidamis Shahanga blasted through the race’s early miles at a sub 2:07 pace, employing a tactic that would be seen henceforth in many a marathon and road race ever since by African talents. Shahanga passed the half-marathon checkpoint in 1:03:12!!
Trailing in a pack of runners way back was Rod Dixon!
Prior to his goal race, the New Zealander had prepped very thoroughly for his NYC Marathon debut. Having run a first marathon in Auckland a year earlier (2:11:21) as well as racking up 20 Road Race victories going back more than a year, Dixon now entered the unknown and unpredictable world of the 26.2-mile distance. Add into that New York’s fabled course, with crowds and bridges and hills, and the marathoners that day no doubt had their work cut out for them.
Like many, even Dixon, despite the preparation work, had his moments of doubt as well.
Prior to the race, Dixon, who was trying to focus in the gymnasium of Fort Wadsworth at the Staten Island starting line, looked around at the competitors and told a NY Times reporter, “ ”It’s a whole new bloody world…They look hungry, they look mean…I wonder if I’ve got that look.” According to the reporter, Dixon said he even had to scramble through the bushes to reach the front of the line on the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge before the cannon went off.
Now, as first Avenue beckoned, Dixon and the pack saw that it was not going to be Shahanga’s day. Brit Geoff Smith, a worked-class competitor himself who was a NYC fan favorite (Smith had competed in many NYRR races in Central Park prior) blasted ferociously and caught up with the African in what was reported to be a 4:43 mile around the 17 Mile mark, followed by a mile in 4:44!!
“ Thankfully, I didn’t know they did that,” said Dixon, who appeared as a distant blur on the ABC television coverage with Smith and Shahanga hammering it out. “I did know that they were getting away from me…again !!!”
Dixon told the New York Times:
”When I came off the bridge and looked up First Avenue, I saw Geoff and Shahanga a half-mile away and said, ‘Oh, my God, it’s not enough time,’ ” Dixon recalled. ”Then I looked at the pace car, and it had 47 minutes left, so I said to myself, ‘Stay within your…
CLICK HERE to Read the Full Original Article at runblogrun…