Perhaps the best proof of the potency of Lydiard’s de facto 80/20 running system as it was applied within the Greater Boston Track Club was what it did for many runners of less talent than Rodgers, Salazar, and Benoit. Take Dick Mahoney. Mahoney was working full-time as a mailman when he finished the 1979 Boston Marathon in 2:14:36. That time was good enough for tenth place, but it only got him fourth place among GBTC members, behind Rodgers (the winner), Bob Hodge (third in 2:12:30), and Tom Fleming (fourth in 2:12:56).
