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ING NY City Marathon--A Look Back
Walt Murphy's News and Results Service (wmurphy25@aol.com)
(c)Copyright 2005-all rights reserved. May not be reprinted or
retransmitted without permission.
ING NYC Marathon
A Look Back Through the Years
One of the fun things I get to do every year is ride in the lead timing
car for the elite men at the ING NY City Marathon, coordinating splits
and leaders at all of the mile/5k markers throughout the course. It's
the lazy man's way of enjoying the marathon experience without having
to log all of those painful miles in training! Here is a look back at
one of the great events in the sport.
My thanks to the staff at the New York Road Runners for much of the
information listed below. For deep results from every year of the race,
go to: http://www.ingnycmarathon.org/results/index.php
1970(Sep.13)
Vince Chiappetta and the late Fred Lebow were the co-race directors as
127 runners competed in the first NYC Marathon, which consisted of 4+
loops of the Central Park roadway. City fireman Gary Muhrcke won the
race in 2:31:38, followed by 19-year old Tom Fleming in 2:34:44. 1952
Olympian Ted Corbitt, considered by many to be the "Father of Distance
Running" in the U.S., finished 5th. Lebow, running in his own race,
finished 45th(4:12:09).
Nina Kuscsik, the only female entrant, didn't finish, nor did 71 of the
male runners. One of those was Ed Bowes, the former coach at Bishop
Loughlin H.S., who set a fast early pace before collapsing.
In 1979, 3 years after the race had moved to its current 5-borough
format, Bowes half-jokingly suggested to Lebow that the student band
from Loughlin, which is located along part of the marathon route in
Brooklyn, could play the theme from the movie Rocky as the runners
went by. Lebow agreed and a tradition was born, with the band still
playing the familiar tune for four hours on raceday. When Rudy
Giuliani, a Loughlin alum, was mayor, he used to ride in one of the
lead vehicles, but would always stop to greet the band-members
(http://www.blmhs.org/News/schoolnews.html).
Muhrcke, who later sold running shoes out of his van at local races,
now owns 10 "Super Runner" stores in the NY Metropolitan
area(http://tinyurl.com/dhby7).
I was one of the timers for the race and also helped Chiappetta fill a
plastic garbage can with water (for the only water-stop in the race)
from the nearby Tavern-on-the-Green restaurant(which still plays a
major role in pre- and race-day activities). Prizes included some
recycled bowling and baseball trophies, as well as some cheap watches
that Lebow paid for out of his own pocket.
1971(Sep.19)
Norm Higgins traveled from Connecticut to run a 5k in the Bronx, but
changed his mind when he heard about the marathon. He won the race in
2:22:54 and his margin of victory (10:27) is still the largest in race
history. Higgins was the long-time coach of Jan Merrill, the former
American Record holder at 1500-meters.
Beth Bonner (2:55:22) and Nina Kuscsik (2:56:04) became the first women
to officially run under 3-hours for the marathon.
1972(Oct.1)
In protest of an AAU requirement that women had to start 10-minutes
before the men, the six female entrants sat on the starting line for
that time period, then started with the men. The "official" results
showed 10-minutes added to the women's actual running time! Nina
Kuscsick, who had won the Boston Marathon in April, also won here in
3:08:41. Lebow finished 106th(3:41:02). Men's winner Sheldon Karlin
(2:27:52) returned as a celebrity to the University of Maryland after
local papers had reported his victory.
1973(Sep.20)
Tom Fleming won in 2:21:54, followed by Norb Sander in 2:23:38. Sander,
with help from 1970 winner Gary Muhrcke, would later lead the crusade
to revitalize the 168th Street Armory for use during the indoor track
season. Nina Kuscsik won the women's division for the 2nd year in a
row(2:57:07), while Kathrine Switzer (of Boston Marathon fame) finished
2nd (3:16:02.
1974(Sep.29)
Sander and Switzer both moved up a place, winning in 2:26:30 and
3:07:29, respectively. Bill Rodgers finished 5th in the men's division
(2:35:59).
1975(Sep.28)
Tom Fleming (2:19:27) and Kim Merritt (2:46:14) set course records in
the last Marathon held entirely in Central Park.
1976(Oct.28)
It took the combined dreams and efforts of distance runners Ted Corbitt
and George Spitz, Manhattan Borough President Percy Sutton, members of
the Rudin family, who were (and still are) major players in NYC real
estate, and a reluctant Fred Lebow, as 2,090 marathoners took in all
five boroughs of the city (Staten Island, The Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn,
and Manhattan). (NY Times-requires free registration:
http://tinyurl.com/875xl).
Bill Rodgers (2:10:10) won the first of his four straight men's titles,
while 2-time Olympic medalist Frank Shorter finished 2nd in 2:13:12.
Miki Gorman won the women's division in 2:39:11, at the time the
2nd-fastest marathon ever run by a woman.
1977(Oct.23)
Rogers repeated (2:11:28) and 42-year old Miki Gorman (2:43:10) won the
women's title.
1978(Oct.28)
Norway's Grete Waitz, who had to be talked into running her first
marathon by Fred Lebow, set a World Record of 2:32:30 in her debut at
the distance. She would go on to win the race a total of 9 times.
Rogers won for the 3rd time, running 2:12:12.
1979(Oct.21)
Waitz lowers her World Record to 2:27:33. Rodgers (2:11:42) wins his
4th and final NYC Marathon. Shorter winds up 7th (2:16:15). Rodgers was
accorded a unique NY honor this week when he had a sandwich named after
him at Manhattan's famous Carnegie Deli. For the record, the "Bill
Rodgers" consists of tuna, lettuce, and tomato on whole wheat bread.
For a photo, go to:
http://www.iaaf.org/news/Kind=2/newsId=32476.html
1980(Oct.26)
Making his debut in the event, 22-year old Alberto Salazar won in
2:09:41, while Grete Waitz, by now a favorite of NY fans, ran 2:25:42
to lower the World Record for the 3rd year in a row. Runnerup Patti
Catalano ran 2:29:33 to become the first American under 2:30.
1981(Oct.25)
Salazar won again, setting what was thought to be a World Record of
2:08:13, but controversy arose when a remeasurement of the course found
it to be 150-meters short. With Grete Waitz absent, New Zealand's
Allison Roe thought she had set a World Record with her winning time of
2:25:29, but that mark was also disallowed.
1982(Oct.24)
Emerging from a cloud of dirt kicked up by the pace car as it entered
Central Park, Alberto Salazar had a step on Mexico's Rodolfo Gomez and
went on to win for the 3rd year in a row by a mere 4
seconds(2:09:29-2:09:33). At the time, it was the smallest margin of
victory in the race's history. This was also the last time an American
won the race. No World Record this time, but Grete Waitz still won her
4th title with a fast time (2:27:14).
1983(Oct.23)
It's still one of the most memorable marathon races ever. At 20-miles,
Providence College's Geoff Smith, running his first marathon, had a
35-second lead on Rod Dixon. The New Zealander had been a spectator at
the previous year's race and was inspired to come back as a participant
after watching the great Salazar-Gomez duel. Dixon, who had an
outstanding track career before moving on to the roads and x-country
(he won the bronze medal in the 1500-meters at the 1972 Olympics),
didn't panic, and Smith, fighting leg spasms, started to come back to
him. Dixon, smartly "cutting the tangents" on the course while Smith
stayed on the painted blue line that acted as a guide for the runners,
caught the Providence College star at 26-miles and pulled away to win
in 2:08:59. Dixon fell to his knees and kissed the wet ground while a
spent Smith(2:09:08), who had been on world record pace, lay flat on
his back after crossing the finish line. Dixon remembers the race:
http://www.wvrr.org/misc/roddixon.html.
Grete Waitz won the women's division for the 5th time. (2:27:99).
1984(Oct.28)
With temperatures in the high 70s, and the humidity reaching 90%,
times were on the slow side and there were many dropouts. Italy's
Orlando Pizzolato won the men's division in 2:14:53, still the slowest
winning time for the 5-borough race, and Grete Waitz won her 6th
women's title in 2:29:30, which would turn out to be the slowest of her
nine victories. The brutal conditions led race officials to move the
race into November starting in 1986.
1985(Oct.27)
Pizzolato (2:11:34) and Waitz (2:28:34) repeated as winners.
1986(Nov.2)
The field topped 20,000 for the first time as Waitz won for the 8th
time(2:28:06). Italy's Gianni Poli beat Australia's Rob De Castella,
2:11:06-2:11:43.
1987(Nov.1)
Priscilla Welch, the 42-year former smoker from New Zealand, won the
women's race in 2:30:17. Kenya's Ibrahim Hussein passed former
Manhattan College star Pat Petersen on 1st Avenue on his way to winning
in 2:11:01. Petersen faded to 4th(2:12:03).
1988(Nov.6)
Waitz won the women's division for the 9th and final time (2:28:07),
while 1984 Olympic champion Joan Samuelson finished 3rd(2:32:40). Waitz
finished 2nd to Benoit at the L.A. Games.
Great Britain's Steve Jones won the men's race in 2:08:20.
1989(Nov.5)
Tanzania's Juma Ikangaa, running in ideal conditions, set a course
record of 2:08:01. The women's winner was still from Norway, but this
time it was Ingrid Kristiansen, whose winning time of 2:25:30 missed
Waitz's course record by only a second.
1990(Nov.4)
After a 2-year absence due to injuries, Waitz gamely tried to win her
10th title, but could "only" manage a 4th-place finish and soon after
announced her retirement. Poland's Wanda Panfil edged American Kim
Jones for the title (2:30:45-2:30:50). The race was dedicated to Fred
Lebow, who was battling brain cancer.
Kenya's Douglas Wakiihuri won the men's race in 2:12:39.
1991(Nov.3)
Two months after winning the 10,000-meters at the World T&F
Championships in Tokyo, Scotland's Liz McColgan won here in 2:27:32,
the fastest debut by a woman in history. Mexico got a 1-2 finish in the
men's race from Salvador Garcia (2:09:28) and Andres Espinosa (2:10:00).
1992(Nov.1)
With his brain cancer in remission, Fred Lebow, with his good friend
Grete Waitz running with him the entire race, ran his first NYC
Marathon since 1972.
Taking advantage of the lifting of international sanctions against
South African athletes, WIllie Mtolo won the men's race in 2:09:29.
Australia's Lisa Ondieki set a women's course record of 2:24:40.
1993(Nov.14)
After finishing 2nd in 1991 and 1992, Mexico's Andres Espinosa moved up
a notch to win in 2:10:04.The U.S. had a good showing with a 2-5 finish
from Bob Kempainen(2:11:03) and Keith Brantly(2:12:49).
Germany's Uta Pippig won the women's race in 2:26:24.
1994(Nov.6)
Mistakenly following the pace car, which had gone as far as it could on
the course, Mexico's German Silva made a wrong turn into Central Park.
With race officials frantically trying to get his attention, Silva
recovered in time to get back on the right course and caught countryman
Benjamin Paredes, winning by only 2 seconds(2:11:21-2:11:23), the
clostest finish in race history. The next night, Silva appeard on the
David Letterman show, running through the aisles in the studio with the
host yelling, "You're going the wrong way"!
Kenyan Tegla Loroupe became the first African woman to win a major
marathon, running 2:27:37.
The beloved Fred Lebow finally succumbed to his brain cancer less than
a month before this year's race. He had been inducted into the National
Track and Field Hall of Fame during the summer
(http://tinyurl.com/d5d28). A statue of Lebow is located in Central
Park, not far from the NY Road Runners headquarters on E.89th St in
Manhattan. It is moved to a spot near the finish line during marathon
weekend. http://tinyurl.com/brs8v
1995(Nov.12)
Amid snow flurries and 40-degree temperatures, Silva(2:11:00) and
Loroupe (2:28:06) were repeat winners.
1996(Nov.3)
Winners were Italy's Giacomo Leone (2:09:54) and Romania's Anuta Catuna
(2:28:18).
1997(Nov.2)
Kenya's John Kagwe won in 2:08:12 as a record six men broke 2:11.
Switzerland's Franziska Rochat-Moser won the women's title in 2:28:42.
Colleen De Reuck, still representing her native South Africa, finished
2nd in 2:29:11.
1998(Nov.1)
In one of the most competitive races in the event's history, nine men
were still in contention at 22-miles, and three were under 2:09 at the
finish. John Kagwe repeated in 2:08:45, followed by fellow Kenyan
Joseph Chebet (2:08:48) and Tanzania's Zebedayo Bayo (2:08:51). Six men
were again under 2:11.
Italy's Franca Fiacconi was the women's winner in 2:25:17.
1999(Nov.7)
Joseph Chebet moved up a spot from the previous year to win in 2:09:14
and Mexico's Adriana Fernandez (2:25:06) won the women's title.
2000(Nov.5)
Winners were Morocco's Abdelkhader El Mouaziz (2:10:09) and Russia's
Ludmila Petrova (2:25:45).
2001(Nov.4)
Coming less than 2-months after 9/11, emotions were running high as the
race took on special meaning for those racing and watching. A
significant change was made in the course, with runners entering
Central Park at 90th Street instead of 102nd Street, thereby
eliminating a short, but steep, hill. The runners seemed to like the
change, with Deena Drossin setting an American debut record of 2:26:58
to finish 6th in the women's division and course records were set by
Kenya's Margaret Okayo (2:24:21) and Ethiopia's Tesfaye Jifar (2:07:43)
2002(Nov.3)
Female runners objected when they were asked to start earlier than the
men in the 1972 race, but no one complained this time as the elite
women started 35-minutes before the rest of the field. Kenya's Joyce
Chepchumba won in 2:25:56 as a record six women ran under 2:28. 4th was
Marla Runyan in 2:27:10.
It was a Kenyan sweep as Rogers Rop won the men's race in 2:08:07, with
countryman Christopher Cheboiboch right behind in 2:08:17. Ireland's
Mark Carroll finished 6th in 2:10:54 and American Meb Keflezighi was
9th in 2:13:313.
2003(Nov.2)
It was the best women's race in the event's history, with Margaret
Okayo (2:22:31), fellow Kenyan Catherine Ndereba (2:23:03), and
Kenyan-born Lorna Kiplagat(2:23:43), who represents the Netherlands,
all breaking Okaya's previous course record of 2:24:21.
Martin Lel won the men's race in 2:10:30 as Kenyans swept the top four
places.
ING signed on to become the title sponsor of the race.
2004(Nov.7)
In the closest women's race in NY history, World Record holder Paula
Radcliffe (2:23:10) won by three seconds over Kenya's Susan Chepkemei
(2:23:13).
South Africa's Hendrick Ramaala won the men's race in 2:09:28 while
American Meb Keflezighi (2:09:53) repeated his silver-medal perfromance
from the Athens Olympics.
36,562 finishers made this the largest marathon in history.
2005
Earlier this year it was revealed that 9-time NY City Marathon winner
Grete Waitz was waging a battle against cancer. More at:
http://tinyurl.com/czzk5(NY Times-free registration required)
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