At least the Beatles came to New York from England.

Malcolm East wasn't as fortunate.

"I went straight to the University of Arkansas on a track scholarship," said East. "I spent only a year there. It was a major cultural shock."

East would eventually move to Boston, then Pittsburgh. He and his wife, Diane, made their way to Butler, which they've called home since 1986.

"It's a community here," said East, 48, who was among the world's top distance runners in the late 1970s and 1980s. "I used to come up with a group of runners from Butler and they always made me feel welcome."

When his wife got a job offer with Butler Memorial Hospital, they moved from Boston to Butler.

East always found Butler to his liking, especially the Butler Road Race, which he won five times back in a 10-year span when it was a 10K race.

Oddly enough, running is where East made his mark, but his ability as a soccer player got him notice in England.

As a youngster, East played soccer four to five times a week in London.

"Actually, my parents bugged me about joining an athletic club," said East, who made the British Junior team. "Those clubs are big in Europe. I joined a local club and played."

"Even when I was playing soccer, I ran all the time. At midfielder and wing, my role was in transition. I wasn't surprised I was getting a good workout."

As a senior in England, East was a marathon runner and the University of Arkansas was impressed enough to give him a scholarship.

East was feeling homesick, then received a call from CCAC-Allegheny in 1977.

"They had one of the best cross country and track teams and gave me a scholarship," said East.

While at CCAC, East set national junior college records in the 5,000- and 10,000-meter races and was the national champion in cross country, the 5,000, 10,000, and the indoor mile.

"They were such a powerhouse team," said Mike Franko, president of the Butler Road Race, on the CCAC cross country teams. "For a two-year institution to go on and win the whole doggone thing, well they ran themselves out of existence. No one wanted to run against them.

"One year they won the junior college national championship with 15 points. They swept the top five places," Franko added.

With success brought sponsorships from running companies. He spent one year under Adidas, four to five years for Nike, then five to six more years for New Balance.

"With New Balance, East received a yearly salary and did clinics at races.

"I was paid to run," he noted.

East was having a lot of success in marathoning, having placed fifth at Boston in 1981 and winning the Copenhagen Marathon in 1981, Columbus in 1983 and Pittsburgh in 1988.

East missed qualifying for the England Olympic team by two spots in both 1980 and 1984.

It was during that time East was leaving his mark in Butler County.

East was finding time to squeeze in the Butler Road race. He won the race in 1979 with a time of 30 minutes, 18 seconds.

He defended his title in 1980 (30:27), then won again in 1982 (29:49), 1983 (29:42) and 1985 (30:21).

"His split time per mile for his fastest 10K was 4:48," said Franko. "To do that in our five-mile race that's a 24:00 and our record in the five-mile is 24:48."

"The first couple of times I came up to run the race, I was living in Pittsburgh," said East. "Butler had one of the best 10Ks in Pennsylvania and one of the toughest courses."

The following year, 1986, East and his wife left Boston to live in Butler.

In his time in Butler, East had worked for 20-plus years at Kelly Chevrolet.

"I've known Mike for a long time," said East. "One year when we were living in Boston (1985), he flew us down to run the race."

East just accepted a job offer from Independent Air in Pittsburgh last week and is looking forward to his new opportunity.

"I'll be doing a little bit of everything. It's a new airline. I'll work the counter, the ramp, de-icing whatever.

"It's a good job and I'm real happy," East added.

East has been working himself back into running shape by getting back to an old favorite - soccer.

"I spent all winter playing indoor soccer," said East. "I had two broken wrists and had some broken ribs.

"I started racing three weeks ago. I started running with some buddies on the track."

East has worked himself back up to 70 to 80 miles per week.

"It's a good base but I haven't done any speed work. I got back on the track just (two weeks) ago."

By moving to Butler and enjoying the success at the BRR, East helped to put a face on the Butler racing scene.

"Running in the same race as Malcolm, you could brag you ran in the same race as a world-caliber runner," said Franko. "The spectators liked to see him coming up Main Street."