A Decade Later, U.S. Is No Longer in the Race : Running: American marathoners have fallen on hard times since the days of Frank Shorter, Bill Rodgers and Alberto Salazar.

Frank Shorter was there when it began, so perhaps it was fitting that he was there when it ended.

It was 1984. A late August day in the Coliseum. The finish of both the Olympic Marathon and an era.

Shorter was in street clothes, in the infield, watching and hoping for an American to carry the flame he had lit a decade earlier.

And what a fire that had been. Shorter’s victory in the 1972 Olympic Marathon did for marathoning what Madonna did for blondes.

Shorter, Bill Rodgers and Alberto Salazar--all lonely long-distance runners who suddenly became household names.

Shorter, Rodgers and Salazar--Americans who dominated marathon running not just in this country, but the world.

It seemed as if it would go on forever. Then, on that late August day in 1984, Shorter looked up.

“I saw the runners coming in and I realized, there were no Americans there,” he recalled.

Shorter stopped looking for names and instead focused on countries.

Portugal, Ireland, Great Britain, Japan, Australia, Tanzania, Kenya, Djibouti, Ireland, New Zealand.

When Peter Pfitzinger was the first American finisher in 11th place, Shorter knew something was terribly wrong.

When Salazar finished 26 seconds later in 15th place, he knew the fire had been extinguished.

“Alberto was getting older, and there was not much coming up behind him, and I thought, ‘You know, things might be getting a little bleak,’ ” Shorter said.

Ten years later, even Shorter cannot believe how bleak.

“It’s like we’ve fallen off the face of the earth,” he said.

Spectators at the finish line of the ninth annual Los Angeles Marathon Sunday will probably agree.

An American has not won the marathon since Ric Sayre was the inaugural champion in 1986, when the race was still a novelty with 10,787 runners competing.

Nearly twice as many are expected Sunday when, once again, the first runner to speak at the post-race news conference will probably require an interpreter.

America’s best male hope, Ed Eyestone, is rated sixth in the field. But among Americans, that is exceptional. Consider:

--In 1982, Salazar won the New York City Marathon and recorded the world’s fastest time of the year.

Since then, no American male has won in New York City or finished a year with the world’s fastest time.

--In 1983, Americans took the top three spots in the Boston Marathon. No American has won the race since.

--In 1983, 11 of the 50 fastest world marathon times were achieved by Americans. There have not been 11 top-50 times in the world from Americans in the last six years combined , according to Ryan Lamppa of the Road Running Information Center.

--Americans recorded a first-, a second- and two fourth-place finishes in Olympic Marathons during the 1970s. No Americans have reached the top 10 in the Olympics since then.

“What I’m about to say will sound isolationist at best and racist at worst,” wrote Joe Henderson, a Eugene, Ore.-based racing expert, in his Running Commentary newsletter. “When lead runners all have names we can’t remember, and when they don’t speak the language of the host country, the race suffers.”

While American women haven’t done much lately, still fresh are the exploits of Joan Benoit Samuelson. The American men are far more desperate in their search for a hero.

Here are three ideas why:

--Long-distance running is the most competitive sport in the world. Athletes from the poorest countries can compete with the richest.

All you need is a pair of shoes. As some runners have proved, you don’t even need that.

“You don’t have to be tall, you don’t have to have a swimming pool, you don’t need snow,” said Bob Wood, agent for several top distance runners worldwide. “Unlike in other sports, our guys are competing against everybody on earth.”

--Because the prize money at U.S. races is so great, runners from poor countries can train for just two races a year, both marathons. Money won in one race can support them for six months until the next race.

Because the cost of living is so much higher here, the average American runner might compete in 25 races throughout the year, most of them shorter road races, just to make a living.

“We’re feeding every top long-distance runner in the world,” Wood said.

--There is no emphasis in this country on coaching long-distance runners, who require years of nurturing, unlike sprinters.

Officials say that of the top five American runners this year, only Bob Kempainen, who finished second in the New York City Marathon, has any sort of coaching.

“You don’t see people training and working together here like in other countries,” said John Mansoor, assistant to the executive director for USA Track & Field. “Once a runner leaves college, it’s like he gets kicked out onto the street.”

Instead of moaning about foreign competitors who will not disappear, many officials think that renewed emphasis should be placed on such coaching.

They say that this country’s top long-distance runners should put aside petty jealousies and join together in a concerted effort, much like those Kenyan runners who are seen jogging across a desert in that athletic shoe commercial.

Who could lead them? Well, there is one former Olympic champion and current sportswear manufacturer from Boulder, Colo., who still runs and who would coach for nothing.

But, well . . .

“Nobody’s called me,” said Frank Shorter.

Top American Finishers in L.A. Marathon

An American male has not won the Los Angeles Marathon since Ric Sayre was the inaugural champion in 1986, when the race was still a novelty with 10,787 runners competing. A look at the top American finishers in the history of the event.

Year Name Time Place 1986 Ric Sayre 2:12:59 1st 1987 Ric Sayre 2:13:38 2nd 1988 David Olds 2:19.24 17th 1989 Greg Meyer 2:16:46 5th 1990 Steve McCormack 2:18:50 10th 1991 Ivan Huff 2:17:25 10th 1992 Alfredo Vigueras 2:17.32 9th 1993 Brad Hudson 2:20:00 6th