1978 was a pivotal year in "amateur sports" in general and road running specifically. Over the previous years, athletes were revolting from the financial limitations of their amateur status. They wanted to be able to accept prize money openly. Following the 1972 Olympics, many elite track athletes created and ran in the professional International Track Association, which caused them to lose their Olympic eligibility. At the same time, millions of Americans were enthused by Frank Shorter's 1972 Olympic Marathon victory and were taking to running road races, a phenomenon known as the "Running Boom." By 1978, the athlete's revolt led to the Amateur Sports Act of 1978, breaking the Amateur Athletic Union's regulation of the collection of sports they had governed and the replacement governing body The Athletics Congress, as domestic representatives of the interests of the IAAF and IOC were resisting ways to open the door for professionalism against the tide of commercial interests who wanted capitalize on the popularity of the sport. In Road running, a new organization called the "Association of Road Racing Athletes" (known as the ARRA) was formed to create a professional road racing circuit. Among the 6 charter events of the circuit was the Lasse Viren Finnish Invitational, offering $30,000 in prize money.