The biggest marathon in the world started with an obsession. In the 1960s, New York running enthusiasts met in the Bronx. But at some point it became too dangerous there – due to traffic and young people throwing stones from bridges.
First, consider: “Central Park is for horses, not for running”
“Then I discovered Central Park. It was 1969,” reports Fred Lebow, the “father” of the New York City Marathon. “One Sunday I ran around the water reservoir. And that’s when the idea occurred to me: There are no cars here at the weekend. Why don’t we do a marathon in Central Park?”
But before that happened, Lebow had to do a lot of convincing. For example with Henry Stern, who was responsible for the parks in the city administration. “Central Park was not made for running, but for horses and carriages,” says Stern. “The idea that people walk around with little more than underwear was unimaginable. You couldn’t even leave the house like that!”
“Pretty tasteless trophies” at the first marathon
Nevertheless, the time had come on September 13, 1970: The first New York Marathon led four laps through Central Park. “The whole event didn’t cost more than $ 1,000,” says Lebow. “I bought 15 cheap watches and pretty tasteless trophies. I had no idea how to run a marathon.”
127 runners started – including just one woman. There were practically no spectators. 55 runners crossed the finish line. The fastest: New York firefighter Gary Muhrcke in hand-stopped 2 hours, 31 minutes and 39 seconds. “We just went to Central Park and paid the entry fee,” says Muhrcke. “A dollar or 50 cents. At the finish I got the trophy and Fred said: Give it back to me, I’ll need it for someone else.”
1976 for the first time through all of New York City
In the following years, more and more runners registered, but the New York Marathon initially remained a small event in Central Park. Until Fred Lebow came up with an obsession: for the 200th anniversary of the American Declaration of Independence in 1976, the race should go through the whole city.
Gary Muhrcke, the winner of the first marathon, came up to me and said: “This is going to be a disaster! How can you send a field of runners with women and men through such terrible parts of town as Bedford-Stuyvesant or Harlem?” Says Lebow. “I tried not to let it show, but I was also very nervous.”
A phone booth was circled in the Bronx
Norb Sander, the 1974 winner still has to laugh today when he thinks back to the time: “People thought they went crazy! A marathon through all five boroughs of the city. It’s dangerous and can’t work!”
Indeed, there were threats from gangs who claimed the streets for themselves – which is why in the first few years the route only led around a telephone booth in the Bronx, so that at least symbolically all five metropolitan areas were covered.
–
