Projo Running Blog

Bobby Doyle, Rhode Island's legendary marathoner who died last Friday, was named the honorary starter and grand marshall of this year's Amica Insurance Breakers Marathon. Race director Don Allison wrote this tribute to Doyle, who won the Ocean State Marathon in Newport seven times, for this year's program booklet:

Bobby Doyle: the First Rhode Islander of Marathon Running

By Don Allison

Thirty-one years ago, on October 24, 1976, several hundred runners gathered in Newport for the start of the first Ocean State Marathon. No one really knew what to expect—after all, it was the first time the 26-miler had been held in Rhode Island. The running boom was just gaining steam, thus, the sport was far from achieving the mainstream status it enjoys today.

Nonetheless, a strong field of more than 450 had assembled at Rogers High School for the three-loop course through downtown Newport and around Ocean Drive and Brenton Point. Among them was a 27-year-old Rhode Islander named Bobby Doyle, running in just his second marathon. Having run 2:32 at the Silver Lake Dodge Marathon in Massachusetts earlier that year, Doyle was simply hoping to improve his time and finish among the frontrunners.

Then a funny thing happened: Doyle got out in front of the field and never looked back. “I knew I was in good shape; I just wanted to run in the lead pack” Doyle related, adding, “Then it got down to just Ray Currier and myself. I surged at mile 18 or 19 and got the lead. I always felt I could surge to better than five-minute (per mile) pace when I needed to late in a marathon.” Bobby went on to reach the finish line first in 2:20:36, thus setting the stage for establishing himself as the top long distance runner in Rhode Island, a distinction he would cement over the next several years. Asked for other recollections from that October day back in ’76, he recalls, “It was a wet day, and very cold. I wore a sweatshirt under my race singlet, and by the finish it was soaked. It must have weighed 10 pounds.” Such was the sport back then, years before polypro, Coolmax or any other wicking fibers had been invented.

Ray Nelson, another long-time Rhode Island runner, recalls, “Conditions were raw and cold. For gloves I used a pair of acrylic socks that went up my forearm. I hit the wall and had a hard time on the concrete of Bellevue Avenue, and took a couple of short walking breaks. I had built up a sizeable time cushion so I was still able to break three hours by seven minutes.

Said Yankee Runner of that day: In the first annual Ocean State Marathon Doyle took on the best New England had to offer and ran them into the ground. Both Doyle and the marathon can be proud of their efforts: Bob for his 2:20:36 clocking; the marathon for staging an instant classic that may be New England’s best race, all things considered…Bob Doyle “owns Rhode Island, lock stock, and barrel,” as one spectator put it.

Another hallmark of the sport in those days was the work ethic many runners employed, and Bobby Doyle was no exception. “I usually peaked out at 140 miles per week (before a marathon). I would build up to that level, but was usually too tired to hold it for very long.” That is certainly understandable; after all, running 20 miles a day is difficult for most people to even fathom, let alone accomplish. In addition, running was an avocation for Bobby, not a source of employment. Along with his brother Jimmy, he ran Doyle’s Sporting Goods. “I would do a run before we opened the store at 10:00 a.m., and then another run after the store closed at 6:00 p.m.,” he relates.

Despite the exhausting schedule, Doyle’s running continued to improve after his auspicious Ocean State Marathon performance. Like many marathoners of that era, he aspired to run the Boston Marathon. Unlike others, he aspired to run at the front of the pack, and achieved that with a 12th place finish in 1978. The next year however, saw an even greater performance. Despite passing the half marathon at five-minute-per-mile pace, Doyle found himself well back, in 35th place. Then came a turning point: “After turning onto Commonwealth Avenue at mile 18, I caught and passed a big pack, including Jerome Drayton (the 1977 winner).” That provided the impetus for Doyle to press ahead. The final result was a personal best of 2:14:04, good for seventh place. Ever the marathoner, Doyle feels he might have run even faster: “I could have done better; at one point I thought I was going to get second.” Running icon Bill Rodgers set the American record of 2:09:27 that day, and was followed by a merry band of four other New Englanders in the top ten, including Bobby.

One might think such a stellar result at Boston would have opened doors for Rhode Island’s leading marathoner, but alas, it was not necessarily the case. Bobby explains, “I thought about running the New York City Marathon. I got in touch with (race director) Fred Lebow, but he would not even give me a hotel room. Instead he paid for foreign runners to come over. Most of them finished in 2:14 or 2:15, a time I could have run.” No worries however; Doyle focused his autumn marathon efforts on the Ocean State 26-miler, and those efforts did not go unrewarded: he took top honors a total seven times. Part of that success was due to the simple fact that he loved training and racing in New England. He says, “I always felt there were great country roads to train on here in Rhode Island and Connecticut. Other places had crowded city streets, but the wide open roads here were great for running.”

In addition to the seven victories at the Ocean State Marathon, Bobby returned to more successful runs at Boston, including a fifth place finish in 1985, on a sweltering hot day in which just surviving the distance was an achievement. Along with those races, he ran in a pair of Olympic Trials Marathons, in 1980 and 1984. In the latter race he clocked 2:18, despite dealing with a painful pelvis injury that limited his training. “I did not do much training for that race; just one long run and one track workout a week,” Doyle explains. That he was able to run so well off so little training is a testament to his physical and mental toughness.

Now age 58, Bobby does not do much running anymore, mostly due to the severity of the injuries he suffered during his years as an elite runner. “Stress fractures were always my big problem,” he laments. He does get to the gym however, and focuses much of his energy on his five children. His oldest son, Brenden, a 25-year-old state trooper and an outstanding runner who completed four marathons, suffered a severe brain injury when he was assaulted after stopping a motorist on June 16. Brenden is determined that his career and running won’t be ended by the injury, and was recently released from a rehabilitation center in Boston. Bobby’s youngest son Brian is entering his sophomore year at Bishop Hendricken High School. He showed promise as a distance runner as a freshman, clocking 9:27 for 3,000 meters and 4:22 for 1,500.

Reminiscing about his own running career, Doyle is content. “I’m very happy with the way it turned out. I never went after fame, but some fame came my way.” What about missing out on the current era, in which runners of his caliber are now reaping significant paychecks? He replies, “I never really cared about the money. I really just loved running. I always said I loved it so much I’d do it for nothing.”

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