4-Time Boston Marathon Champ Bill Rodgers 'Nervous'

BOSTON (CBS) - Bill Rodgers has won the Boston Marathon four times.

Rodgers, who did not finish in his first marathon appearance, won three of them in the 1970s, with his fourth and final victory coming in 1980. Ahead of the 2011 edition of the race, however, Rodgers was "nervous."

"Once you get into this sport, it's never totally out of your blood, and Johnny Kelly proved that by coming back here and running it 61 times," said Rodgers. "Today I'm riding in his car, the Nissan pace car, which I've never done anything like this before. That makes me nervous."

WBZ-TV's Steve Burton spoke with Rodgers:

How can he be so nervous?

"I love this race so much, and you can never kind of get away from that feeling, but I love the whole feeling here in Hopkinton. (It's) the greatest race in the world, so that's intense," said Rodgers.

Rodgers said that the forecasted tail wind could help a runner set a course record at the marathon.

"There's a good shot at it because the field's one of the strongest ever," said Rodgers. "They've got the tail wind. It's cool, there's no humidity...You got to feel your way through the marathon. That's what the marathon is. You feel your way through it, you watch your competition, and you're just hoping everything went right for you."