Geoff Smith believes its time for Boston to take back its marathon on the 30th anniversary of his first Hopkinton-to-Boston win in 1984.
The fearless English front-runner who led wire-to-wire to crush the field in 2:10:34 in 1984, is confident the human spirit has already won out over the crazed act of two terrorist bombers and expects that to be the theme this Patriots Day.
"It's a great event and it has been tragically marred by a couple of cranks," Smith said. It's a time to reflect and a time to start anew. Boston's still Boston. The event will go on. It's been going on for one hundred and eighteen years. It's about a race. It's about people competing whether it's against the clock or against themselves - whether it's to win or just to finish. It's all about competition and enjoyment."
Smith was also touched by the tragic deaths of Lieutenant Edward J. Walsh Jr. and Michael R. Kennedy, two Boston firefighters who perished battling a fast-moving blaze on Beacon St. on March.
Smith understood more than most the pain and sadness that washed over the city with the tragic loss of the two beloved firefighters. The Liverpool native was a firefighter across the pond for ten years and the feeling of despair of losing two members of the tight-knit brotherhood was something he had experienced during his years fighting fires, so much so, he knew he had to do something to help the city's brotherhood of firefighters.
Smith decided the proceeds raised from the upcoming May 4 "Legends Half Marathon" race, he founded and serves as race director for, will go directly to the Boston Firefighters Fund. The race begins at 9 a.m.at The Melody Tent parking lot in Hyannis. Both Smith and former marathon world-record holder Steve Jones of Wales are participating in the event.
"I called down to Boston and gave my condolences," said Smith." I spent ten years of my life within the fire department. I still keep in contact with all my buddies from Liverpool who were on the fire department. They're all retired now. When any of us go down it hits home. It's a sad thing, You see firefighters who come from all over the country. It's a brotherhood."
Smith's two marathon wins in 1984 and 1985 are among the most colorful in the history of the prestigious foot race and gave an insight to Smith's reputation as a front-runner who fears no on.
There was an enormous amount of pressure on Smith to win the 1984 race and put up a strong time in the process. Despite finishing second the previous October to Rod Dixon in the New York City Marathon in what was then the fastest first-time marathon in history (2:09:08), it didn't guarantee him one of the three coveted slots for the Los Angeles Olympics. Smith knew he had to win Boston and he had to win big.
"It was my senior year (at Providence College)," said Smith.
"Britain didn't have a trial per se. They were using the London Marathon as the last event to register a time and most of the people who were vying for the team were running London. It was a sort of trial. I had run a really fast time in New York and finished second. I had some choices to make. Do I go back and run London and blow off the last month of school or do I go to Boston? I spent four months of my life going to college. I wasn't going to not finish my degree off to run a race. I had to win Boston and I had to win in a good time."
From the start, it was apparent that Smith was ready to go at it alone. With 1984 being an Olympic year, the majority of top Americans bypassed Boston to concentrate on the Olympic trials the following month in Buffalo, NY. Staying to race plan, Smith immediately took the lead in the bone-chilling rain and 39-degree temperatures. Clearly the class of the field, Smith left the pack behind on his 26.2-mile quest to the Prudential Center. He ran hard until he reached the top of Heartbreak Hill and cruised the final six miles to win by four minutes and ultimately garner an Olympic spot.
"To run 2:10:34 into a headwind at Boston is a pretty good feat," said Smith recalling the victory. "I sort of relaxed once I got to Boston College." Smith was pleased with his solo effort and believed the British Olympic Committee would have to select him to the team based on his win and world-class time on a difficult day to run. "It was a sparce field but there were still good runners in it," said Smith. "I had to make a statement. I had to go from the gun. It was a freezing cold day, it had been snowing the day before and it was into a headwind. It wasn't a pretty day." Despite his phenomenal Patriots Day, Smith admitted he does regret pulling in the reigns and running relaxed the final six miles after cresting Heartbreak Hill. There's no telling what Smith could have run for a time if he continued to push down Commonwealth Ave. to the finish line.
"You learn something from every race and what I learned from that is you never leave anything on the plate," Smith said. "I sort of relaxed once I got to Boston College. Instead of pushing it all the way I sort of ran into the finish feeling good with the thought that Olympics were coming up and do I want to flatten my tank before the Olympics? I'd won this race, I could run 2:10 and change and I thought that would get me onto the team. So I eased back."
With the Olympics set for August, Smith ramped up his training with the goal of earning a gold medal for Britain. Smith was in phenomenal shape and a week before the marathon put in a workout not for the faint of heart. Smith went to the track and ran four 400-meter repeats in 55 seconds. He followed that up with a 5-mile time trial in 25 minutes and after 10 minutes of recovery ran another 5 miles in the same time. Smith wrapped up the workout with a 200-meter interval in 25 seconds.
Prepared to take on the best marathoners in the world, Smith's Olympic dreams took a turn for the worse the Monday before the marathon. Smith came down with strep throat and was put on antibiotics to battle the strep. He went to the finish line weak and dazed from the medicine. "I was on antibiotics and I was standing on the line feeling like death," said Smith. "I looked around and I thought, 'I hope everybody feels as bad as me.' I was with the leaders for 10 miles and at 10 miles I was done.
"If that hadn't been the Olympics I wouldn't have run. You don't have a choice. Well, you do have a choice but you don't want to accept it. You do what you can. If the race had been on the Sunday before, I would have won. There's no doubt in my mind. It's one of those games. You win some, you lose some."
Smith rebounded from the Olympics and ran a strong 2:10 in the Chicago Marathon in October. He returned to Boston in 1985 and despite the hot, 80-degree temperatures was looking to break Jones' world best of 2:08:05.
Smith was well under record pace through Wellesley and heading into the hills, but he began to experience painful cramping in his hamstrings and slowed over the final six miles. Smith didn't get the world record, but did capture his second Boston title in 2:14:05, making him the first repeat winner since 1980 when Bill Rodgers won his third consecutive title.
"I hadn't taken enough fluids," said Smith. "It's tough coming from a New England winter and standing on the Boston starting line expecting it to be 45-50 degrees. There have been some great races there in the heat. You don't know what to expect at Boston. You have to be prepared for everything."
The 1985 race marked the end of amateur status at Boston and it went pro in 1986 with prize money being offered. Smith knew his time to win prize money would come, but was more focused on winning a second consecutive Boston title. "Everybody was turning their back on Boston and I won't name names," he said. "They turned their back on Boston to make money somewhere else. I stayed around and was doing it for a reason. I thought I could make money afterwards. I knew I could run fast at Boston. My training had gone incredibly well during the winter and I knew when I stood on the line I was ready to run. I wanted to run as fast as I possibly could."
Smith picked up a strong third-place finish in 2:12:42 against a tough field and in humid conditions in the 1987 race behind the great Toshihiko Seko of Japan and Jones.
As for today's marathoners, Smith is truly impressed by the talent and previously unheard of times runners, particularly the Kenyans, are putting up all over the world. Smith isn't surprised by the times, but more with the runners' ability to bounce back so quickly. And yes, he believes drugs could very well be the reason."I look at what they're doing and unfortunately it's tainted by all the drugs that are available," said Smith." Are they taking them, I don't know if they're taking them. The cyclists have been taking drugs and getting away with it for years. Everybody thought Lance Armstrong was clean for ten years. You always want to think that it's clean. The society we live in now leaves question marks over everything.
"It's how they come back. That's the only thing that I question - the recovery. I know you can run that fast, but my question is how do you recover. And what are you doing to recover so fast?"