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.

Al Sal with Mike McLeod (#41) in 1981

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.

Joanie airborne at Falmouth in 2016.

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.

The man, the myth, the legend, well done, well earned.


Results (men)

Finished TimeFlagsGiven nameSurnameAlternate nameCitizenshipBirth datePrize moneyActions
131:53.3AlbertoSalazarUSA07 Aug 1958 
232:13CraigVirginUSA02 Aug 1955 
332:17RodDixonNZL13 Jul 1950 
432:18MichaelMusyokiKEN28 May 1956 
532:47MarkCurpUSA05 Jan 1959 
632:54DanSchlesingerUSA10 Jun 1955 
733:07SosthenesBitokKEN23 Mar 1957 
833:11GeorgeMalleyUSA28 Jul 1955 
933:13RobertHodgeUSA03 Aug 1955 
1033:14GaryFanelliUSA24 Oct 1950 
1133:17PaulCummingsUSA05 Sep 1953 
1233:21GeorgeBuckheitUSA26 Jun 1957 
1333:30JohnGlidewellUSA02 Jan 1957 
1433:32SalVegaUSA04 Sep 1957 
1533:33WilliamHavilandUSA11 Oct 1950 
1633:34AndyPalmerUSA26 Nov 1953 
1733:37DanDillonUSA25 Jun 1957 
1833:40AdrianLeekWAL22 Jan 1958 
1933:43DanPredmoreUSA10 Sep 1958 
2033:46TerryBakerUSA24 Nov 1955 

Results (women)

Finished TimeFlagsGiven nameSurnameAlternate nameCitizenshipBirth datePrize moneyActions
136:33.7JoanSamuelsonBenoitUSA16 May 1957 
237:42DianneRodgerZornNZL09 Nov 1956 
338:04DebbieEideUSA31 Jan 1956 
438:37SusanSchneiderUSA03 Aug 1956 
538:47JacquelineGareauCAN10 Mar 1953 
638:50LaurieBinderUSA10 Aug 1947 
738:57NancyConzUSA01 May 1957 
838:59LindaBegleyMcLennanUSA05 Apr 1961 
939:03SuzanneGirardEberleUSA30 Nov 1962 

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

1 comments on “Salazar. Benoit. Falmouth. 1982.
  1. JDW says:

    Bob Hodge, six times a Top Ten finisher at Falmouth remembers ’82.

    “I ran a nice race two weeks before in Agawam MA. 22:46 for 5 miles, finished two seconds behind Greg Meyer, who won.

    Joe Concannon, the legendary sportswriter, told me he spoke with Craig Virgin and mentioned the Agawam race. Craig said, ‘Couldn’t be, Hodgie can’t run that fast.”

    Just past the mile mark Alberto turned to me and asked “who are those guys?” Mark Scrutton and Keith Brantly were ahead of the pack. When I told him I detected a slightly incredulous look.

    Alberto had recently run a 10k in Europe (27:25 AR) and had asked the race organization to have a 10k mark in the course.

    Alberto hit that in 28:12, I believe. I was 29:00.

    It was typical race deep field, like you don’t see anymore.

    Hot as Hades humid staggering up into the heights old pal Malmo passed me in that last downhill.

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