Bill Rodgers, America's ""King of the Roads'' during the road racing boom of the 1970s and 80s, is a history buff when it comes to his sport.

And history is one of the main reasons ""Boston Billy'' keeps coming back to Wheeling for The Ogden Newspapers 20K Run and Walk.

Rodgers has been a participant in 26 of the previous 28 races and he will be on hand again the weekend of May 27-28 when the festivities and competition unfolds in the 29th annual Wheeling distance event.

Bill, at age 57, no longer runs the 20K. He also has retired as a marathon runner after a storied career in which he won the Boston and New York City 26.2-mile distance tests four times each. Last year, he ran in the newly-established 5K event in Wheeling and will do so again later this month.

""I'm looking forward to coming back to the Ogden race,'' Rodgers said as we chatted over the phone late week. The Sherborn, Mass. resident explained that he very much enjoys the opportunity to meet and talk with some of his former racing rivals such as Tom Fleming, who will be in attendance at the Ogden Classic. No question about it, Bill also loves and is very appreciative of the adulation he receives from the fans and fellow runners in the Ohio Valley.

Almost from the start, Rodgers has been the most popular participant in the Wheeling distance event.

He was also pleased to learn that Patti Catalano Dillon, a past two-time Women's Open Division winner here, also is coming back this year and may run in the 5K race along with Bill.

""Some of the newer races that have popped up in recent years are very nice events but the people running them sometimes don't have an understanding and appreciation of the sport,'' he said. ""They are all about participation, which is a good thing. However, they don't pay much attention to the runners who were part of the road racing boom 20, 30 years ago and are responsible for the popularity of the sport today.

""The Ogden 20K has always shown a great sense of history and it continues to honor the past performers who helped make the race what is today,'' Bill added.

He felt honored and was pleased last year to have been among the initial class of runners, along with Dillon, to have been inducted into the Ogden 20K Classic Hall of Fame.

""That was very nice and I was pleased for everyone who were part of that class,'' he added.

""The Wheeling race always will have a special place in my heart. Ogden (Nutting) deserves much credit for what he is doing with the race today. What Hugh Stobbbs did in the past made this into one of the best races in the United States,'' Rodgers added.

Stobbs was among the founders and he served as race director for the first 27 years of what is now the Ogden Classic.

Although Bill maintains a heavy racing schedule, Rodgers knows better than anybody that his heydays as a runner are behind him. However, he is still looked at and revered as one of America's greatest ambassadors of his sport.

His focus on the roads these days is to be as competitive as he can in his age group. However, he also is called on more than ever to appear at clinics and racing expos.

""I most enjoy going into the schools where I can talk to the kids about fitness,'' he said. ""I also get to speak to many groups, young and old, where I am asked to offer tips about not only staying fit, but how to remain injury-free.''

He usually advises those in his captive audiences about the importance of walking. He is well aware that running isn't for some people, but Bill encourages them to choose an activity that fits them. He believes swimming, biking and playing basketball are other ways to remain physically fit through their lifetime.

Rodgers is a three-time winner of the Ogden 20K Classic, including the inaugural year of 1977. He also won here in 1979 and 1981.

Bill was ranked as the No. 1 marathon runner in the world three times. In 1976, he competed with the U.S. Olympic Team in Montreal. The previous year he finished second in the voting for the prestigious Sullivan Award and he was inducted into the USA Track and Field Hall of Fame in 2000.

Overall, he has run 28 marathons under 2 hours, 15 minutes.

On the track, Rodgers still owns American records in the 15K (43:39.08); 20K (58:15; 25K (1:14.12), and the 30K (1:30.56). As a road runner, he set a then American record for 30K of 1:29.04.

Nick Bedway can be reached via e-mail at: bedway@news-register.net