"He finishes 15 minutes later, and fights off his fatigue to find me. But I only want to talk to one person, the one who made it all possible. "I am surrounded by mayors and governors and newspaper reporters. In 1968, Burfoot won his own Boston marathon. At home that night, I decide to massage my sore legs. I’m dubious, but people say he won the Boston Marathon a few years back. I’ve finished ninth or something pitiful like that. If you stick with it, there’s no telling how far you might go!’ ‘You’ve got a real potential in this sport. We’re face to face, his bright blue eyes ablaze. "Kelley rises up on his tiptoes - I’m six inches taller than he is - grabs me by the shoulders, and turns me toward him. I figure he’ll turn back when he notes my distress, but he keeps coming, like someone who’s seen this sort of thing before. He’s an English teacher at my school, and the cross country coach. "I’ve already decided that I’ll never run again! I’m losing the struggle to keep my lunch - hot dogs and chocolate milk - so I’ve ducked under the football bleachers, hoping no one can see me," recalled Burfoot. "It’s September, 1962, and I’ve just finished my first high school cross country race. If anyone would know, it would be Burfoot, a true disciple of Kelley. Kelley was "the first truly modern American road runner, the first fast American marathoner, and a renaissance runner for the ages," wrote Amby Burfoot, a Runner’s World editor, in 2007. The cause of death was melanoma that had spread to his lungs. Kelley, the father of modern American marathoning, died Sunday in North Stonington, Conn.
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