Rod Dixon eyes big money in U.S. road races

Press, 22 September 1980, Page 34

Rod Dixon eyes big money in U.S. road races

NZPA

Washington

Rod Dixon, who has emerged as one of the leading road runners in. the United States this (northern) summer, has his eye on the big money after the official sanction of prize-money races.

He sees a chance to earn at least $60,000 in the next few months now that the International Amateur Athletics Federation _ (LA.A.F.) has approved a prize-money grand prix circuit of road races in America.

“The over-all winner of the circuit could win as much as $150,000,” said Dixon yesterday, confessing that this sort of money could even tempt him .to .tackle a marathon. Dixon is likely to be the first New Zealander to compete on the circuit. Although details of the races involved have not been released,, he believed that the first would be the Diet Pepsi 10km at Purchase, New York, on October 4, offering $lO,OOO to the winner. “I will be in that,” he said.- “I understand there will be five other races, from skm to the marathon.” Each race will offer prize money and the winners will get points towards an overall total offering further prizes.

“The potential is there for someone to win $150,000. I couldn’t imagine myself running a marathon at present, but I would look at it very seriously if it’s worth that much.”

As preparation for this, Dixon has decided to run a half-marathon — 13.1 miles — in Philadelphia today — the longest race he has ever tackled.

“If all goes well, I will have to think about becoming a full-time athlete,” Dixon said.

officially announced on Thursday,. after the I.A.A.F.’s approval of a proposal put to it by the Athletics Congress, the governing body of the sport in the United States.-

Officially, the prize money has to go to the runner’s club, but a congress official said that there were ways in the rules for it to be passed on to the runner, as compensation for yoss of ings while training and racing- ... .. ■ “In the main, I think the prize money will go to the runner,” said' Mr Peter Cava. Dixon, who has long made no secret of his belief that runners should be paid in return for the effort they put into the sport, said: "I will be claiming every legitimate expense while in the United States. I am here wholly and solely for running. Everything I do is an expense against my running, and I will claim everything I can.”

Rules of the circuit insist that to b© eligible for prize money, a runner must be a member of a United States club and must have been resident there for three months before a race.

Under this, prominent New Zealanders on the U.S. road running scene, such as Dixon, Kevin Ryan, Dick Quax and Lorraine Moller, would all qualify. It would exclude other New Zealand athletes from making flying visits to the United States in search of prize money. Ryan, the New Zealand Olympic marathon runner, hailed the new scheme, saying: “It’s a great thing. It will clear up all the business about runners getting expenses. They put in just as much, if not more, effort than other sportsmen but have been barred from being recompensed.” But Ryan, who is preparing for a marathon in Japan in December, does not intend to join the circuit immediately. He said that if he entered the New York marathon, which may carry prize money this year, he would treat it as a training run. The Japanese race is his top priority and he would also return to New Zealand for the Choysa marathon in February if invited. Quax, and Miss Moller, who both set New Zealand records for the marathon at Eugene, Oregon, recently, said afterwards that they were not planning any more races in the immediate future.

The grand prix circuit was