This Week in NYRR History

On June 4, 1958, a group of 40-odd runners met at Macombs Dam Park in the Bronx and founded New York Road Runners. At the start of its 50th-anniversary year, NYRR is one of the world’s premier running organizations, with more than 45,000 members, a year-round calendar of races including the famed ING New York City Marathon, fitness offerings for all members of the community, and a running program serving 30,000 children in New York City and around the world. Each week throughout 2008, we are proud to present This Week in New York Road Runners History. We’ll dig deep into the archives to find interesting, inspiring, and sometimes unexpected facts about our first 50 years.

June 23–29

June 23, 1999
Joseph McVeigh (17:23) and Kari Ann Bertrand (20:02) win the JPMorgan Chase Corporate Challenge #2 in Central Park.

June 26, 1999
Kelsey Louie (10:32) and Chris Marko (12:59) win the Front Runners New York Community Challenge 2-Mile in Central Park. (The 27th annual FRNY Lesbian and Gay Pride Run will take place this year on June 28.)

June 28, 2008
Longtime NYRR supporter and partner Jack Rudin celebrates his 84th birthday.

June 16–22

June 15-16, 1979
In a superb performance, Don Ritchie of Great Britain sets a world record of 11 hours, 51 minutes, and 12 seconds in the NYRR Invitational 100-Mile.

June 17-18, 1983
Ray Scammel (13:16:02) and Donna Hudson (15:31:57) win the NYRR Invitational 100-Mile, which was the USA Championships that year, at Shea Stadium in Queens, NY.

June 20, 1999
New Jersey’s Ryan Grote wins the Race Against Prostate Cancer 4-Mile in 19:35.

June 9–15

June 9, 2001
Paula Radcliffe of Great Britain wins the NYRR New York Mini 10K in a then-event-record time of 30:47. (The record is now 30:29, set by Asmae Leghzoui at the Mini in 2002.)

June 10, 2000
Tegla Loroupe of Kenya wins the NYRR New York Mini 10K in 31:37 over runner-up Catherine Ndereba (32:22), also of Kenya, in humid, 85-degree conditions..

June 13, 1982
Odis Sanders wins the Westchester Half-Marathon in a very fast 1:03.39.

June 2 - 8

June 4, 1958
A group of New York-area runners meets at Macombs Dam Park, across from Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, and forms the Road Runners Club-New York Association (now NYRR). Following a lecture and demonstration of running techniques by the legendary Australian running coach Percy Cerutty, who is passing through town on his way to the Empire Games in England, the runners repair to their favorite hangout, the Jerome Cafeteria. Founding members include Vince Chiappetta, Ted Corbitt (president), Harry Murphy, Joe Kleinerman, Kurt Steiner, and Lou White.

June 4, 1988
Ingrid Kristiansen of Norway wins the NYRR New York Mini 10K in 31:31. She would win the New York City Marathon in 1989 in 2:25.30.

June 6-7, 1981
Stu Mittleman of the Bronx wins the NYRR 100-Miler at Flushing Meadow Park in 13 hours and 11 seconds.

June 7, 2000
Trevor Murray (15:23) and Rebeccah Wassner (18:06) win the TDI Museum Run 5K in Central Park.

May 26-June 1

May 26, 1990
Judi St. Hilaire wins the NYRR New York Mini 10K in 32:36. She would finish eighth in the 1992 Olympic 10,000 meters in Barcelona.

May 27, 1993
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. speaks on health and fitness issues at an NYRR clinic entitled “Body, Mind, and Soul.”

June 1, 1980
The incomparable Grete Waitz of Norway wins the New York Mini 10K in a world-record time of 31:00. She would amass a total of five victories at the Mini, the world’s original women-only road race.

May 19-25

May 20, 1989  
Thom Birch and Gillian Horovitz win the You Gotta Have Park 5K in Central Park in 15:54 and 17:31, respectively.

May 22, 2001
Toby Tanser (13:38) and Stacy Creamer (16:21) win the Carey Wall Street Rat Race, a 4.01K.

May 25, 1984
William Hart (2:39:44) and Kathleen Horton (3:08.17) win the Yonkers Marathon.

May 12-18

May 12, 1996
Former Connecticut high school star Liz Mueller wins the Mini Tune-Up 5K in 17:35, with Kim Griffin second in 17:41.

May 14, 1989
Bea Huste, who later became the wife of American marathon record-holder Pat Petersen, wins the Mini Tune-Up 5K in 17:05 over Gillian Beschloss (second in 17:08).

May 15, 2004
Kassahun Kabiso of Ethiopia (1:10:11) and Stephanie Hodge of Canada (1:27.03), both top New York-area competitors, win the NYRR Half-Marathon Grand Prix: Queens.

May 17, 1987
Allan Steinfeld and Alice Schneider exchange wedding vows in a ceremony attended by NYRR president and CEO Fred Lebow and other staff members. (Steinfeld retired as NYRR’s president and CEO in 2005; Schneider retired in 2004 as the organization’s vice president of information technology. Lebow, NYRR’s visionary leader for many years, succumbed to cancer in 1994.)

May 5-11

May 5, 2001
The Revlon Run/Walk 5K women’s race is a nail-biter: Zofia Wieciorkowska (17:36) edges Gladees Prieur (17:37) and Kim Griffin (17:38).

May 6, 2004
NYRR hosts an evening of indoor mile events at the New Balance Track and Field Center at the Armory to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first-ever sub-4:00 mile, by Roger Bannister on May 6, 1954. Following the races, Bannister’s magical run is shown on video.

May 9, 2004
Claudia Camargo wins the Child Magazine Mother’s Day Women’s Half-Marathon in 1:20:00. (Camargo would go on to receive the 2006 Fred Lebow NYRR Runner of the Year award.)

April 29-May 5

April 29, 2006
Kelly Chin (1:21:27) and 2004 New Zealand Olympian John Henwood (1:09:29) win the NYRR Half-Marathon Grand Prix: Queens.

May 2-3, 1987
NYRR, in conjunction with the Metropolitan Athletics Congress, hosts the IAAF Race Walking World Cup in Central Park—the first time the event has been held in North America. Carlos Mercanario of Mexico wins the men’s 20K walk in 1:19:24, Ronald Weigel of East Germany wins the men’s 50K walk in 3:42:26, and Olga Krishtop of Russia wins the women’s 10K walk in 43:22.

May 4, 1991
Vicki Huber, a Villanova University grad and a 1988 Olympian, wins the Alamo Alumni 5-Mile Run in 27:46. The men’s race features two more Olympians: Bill Rodgers (Wesleyan), who runs 25:34 to top the 40-44 division, and his old rival Frank Shorter (Yale), who finishes in 25:57.

April 22-28

April 24, 2005
Matt Downin (19:06) and Alemtsehay Misganaw (21:56) win the third annual Run As One, TGL Classic 4-Mile.

April 26, 1986
Joan Benoit Samuelson wins the Trevira Ten-Mile Twosome in Central Park; it is the 1984 Olympic marathon gold medalist’s first win in NYC. Jeff Drenth wins the men’s title in 47:49, and he and Samuelson take the couples’ title. (The race, an NYRR event for many years, was scored by combining the times of male-and-female pairs of runners.) 

April 27, 1980
Herb Lindsay of Boulder, CO, sets a world record of 46:00 with his victory at the Trevira Ten-Mile Twosome in Central Park. U.S. cross country champion Margaret Groos sets an American record with her 54:30 victory.  As teammates, Lindsay and Groos also win the couples’ race.

April 15-21

April 17, 2005
Matt Downin (19:12) and Atalelech Ketema (21:16) win the Niketown Run for the Parks, a four-mile race now known as the adidas Run for the Parks and to be contested this year on April 20. Downin went on to win the 2005 men’s Fred Lebow Runner of the Year Award.

April 18, 2004
George Milic (19:29) and Anne Kugler (22:43) win the Niketown Run for the Parks. Kugler went on to win the 2005 women’s Fred Lebow Athlete of the Year Award.

April 21, 2002
Joe LeMay (21:12) and Carol Howe (21:48) win the Niketown Run for the Parks. Howe went on to win the 2002 women’s Fred Lebow Athlete of the Year Award.

April 8-14

For something completely different this week, here’s a look at the 40-and-over age-group results for one race, one year. How many names do you recognize, and who’s still out there 16 years later? The 2008 adidas Run for the Parks will take place on Sunday, April 20.

Run for the Parks 4-Mile
April 12, 1992

MEN
40-44    Rick Pieschel         21:09
45-49    Art Hall                  21:53
50-54    Pat Cosgrove          22:47
55-59    Alan Fairbrother      23:59
60-64    Al Puma                 28:38
65-69    George Thompson   27:10
70-74    William Coyne        30:01
75-79    Vincent Carnevale   31:34

WOMEN
40-44    Jean Perry-Wolf      27:24
45-49    Mary Ryan             25:06
50-54    Patty Parmalee      27:44
55-59    Mary Cho               31:33
60-69    Bertha McGruder    40:08
70-79    Mayme Bdera         60:15

April 1-7

April 1, 1983
Henry Stern becomes the commissioner of New York City Parks & Recreation. (Stern served under three mayors and was a great supporter of NYRR races, which he often attended with his dog, Boomer.)

April 1, 2005
Mary Wittenberg becomes the first-ever female president and CEO of NYRR and the race director of the ING New York City Marathon, succeeding Allan Steinfeld. (Wittenberg, the 1987 Marine Corps Marathon champion, competed in the 1988 U.S. Olympic Women’s Marathon Trials. She joined the NYRR staff in late October 1998, and in 2000 she became the chief operating officer.)

April 3, 1982
Solomon Chebor (33:39) and Isabelle Carmichael (40:17) win the Figure-8 7-Mile Reversible in Central Park.

April 6, 2002
For the first time, NYRR hosts the USA Men’s 8K Championship in Central Park. Tim Broe of Ann Arbor, MI, wins the 4.97-mile race in 22:26, thanks to his blistering 59-second final 400 meters. (NYRR hosted the 2008 USA Men’s 8K Championship on March 15; Jorge Torres won in 22:42.)

March 25-31

March 25, 1984
NYRR stages the IAAF World Cross Country Championships at the Meadowlands in New Jersey—the first time the event has been held in North America. Winners Carlos Lopes of Portugal and Maricica Puica of Romania would both win gold at the Los Angeles Olympics later that year, Puica in the 3000 meters and Lopes in the marathon.

March 25, 2005
Deena Kastor (25:05) and Jorge Torres (22:47) win the USA 8K Championships. The event is staged on Randall’s Island and finishes on the track in the brand-new Icahn Stadium.

March 27, 1982
Geoff Smith of Great Britain wins the Perrier 10K in Central Park with a fast 28:41. A two-time Boston Marathon champion, Smith is also remembered as the runner-up to New Zealand’s Rod Dixon at the 1983 New York City Marathon: Dixon passed Smith just yards from the finish and stood with arms raised in triumph as Smith collapsed over the line just behind him.

March 29, 1980
Lasse Viren of Finland, known for his Olympic “double-double” (gold medals at 5000 and 10,000 meters in both the 1972 and 1976 Games), wins the Perrier 10K in Central Park in 29:13. Carey Pinkowski of the United States is second in 29:48; he is now the race director of the Bank of America Chicago Marathon, one of the World Marathon Majors.

March 18-24

March 18, 1979
Anna Thornhill wins the Manufacturers Hanover Trust 10-Mile in 1:06:24. (At NYRR Club Night 2008, Thornhill was honored as a member of the 50th Anniversary Champions’ Circle—athletes who have won 10 or more NYRR age-group Runner of the Year awards. She has 14 wins!)

March 21, 2004
Marie Murphy wins the inaugural More Magazine Marathon in Central Park with a time of 3:04:03.

March 24, 1996
Trevor Murray and Jana Jones win the Brooklyn Half-Marathon from Coney Island to Prospect Park in 1:09:04 and 1:22:54, respectively.

March 11-17

March 13, 1988
Pat Petersen wins the Brooklyn Half-Marathon in a very fast 1:03.56.

March 14, 1982
Cindy Wuss (30:09) wins the Manufacturers Hanover Trust Five Borough Challenge (5M) in the Bronx.

March 15, 1981
Robert Anastacio (23:24) and Gillian Adams win the Manufacturers Hanover Trust Five Borough Challenge (5M) in the Bronx. (Adams, now Gillian Horovitz, was honored at NYRR Club Night 2008 for her outstanding performances over time in NYRR races.)

March 16, 1980
Ray Flynn of Ireland wins the second annual Brooklyn 10 Mile in 50.19. (After a career that included multiple sub-4:00 miles, Flynn is now a successful athlete manager with clients including Deena Kastor and Ryan and Sara Hall.)

March 4 - March 10

March 4, 2001
Benson Barus (14:29) and Gladees Prieur (17:24) win the Coogan’s Salsa, Blues, and Shamrocks 5K in Washington Heights.

March 5, 1988
Matt Centrowitz, a former American record-holder at 5000 meters, wins the Central Park 5-Mile in 24:57.

March 6, 1982
Bill Krohn, later a top masters miler, and Sarah Quinn win the Bob Preston Memorial 5-mile in the first-class times of 23:53 and 28:46, respectively.

March 10, 1991
Mohamed Idris of Brooklyn and Egypt, twice the top local finisher at the New York City Marathon, wins the Brooklyn Half-Marathon in 1:07.48.

February 26 - March 3

February 26, 1984
Lou Vazquez (25:15) wins Brooklyn 5-Mile Run in Prospect Park.

March 1, 2002
Renowned running historian Stan Saplin passes away at age 88.

March 2, 1985
Craig Masback wins the Bob Preston 5-Miler in Central Park in 24:11. (Masback later became the CEO of USA Track & Field in 1997 and held that position for 10 years. He is now director of business affairs for Nike’s Global Sports Marketing Division.)

March 2, 1997
Stephen Marsalese (26:40) and Carol Howe (26:44) win the NYRR Al Gordon 5-Mile.  Howe leads all the men until 400 meters to go and takes third overall!

March 3, 1991
Marty Ludwikowski (24:38) and Gillian Horowitz (29:03) win the Central Park 5-Miler.

February 19 - 26

February 20, 1985
Longtime NYRR volunteer Phil Greenwald wins the NYRR Empire State Building Run-Up volunteer/staff division in 14:04. NYRR president Fred Lebow finishes fourth.

February 22, 1991
Joe Yancey of the New York Pioneer Club passes away at age 80. Yancey was the head coach of the Jamaican Olympic teams in 1948, 1952, and 1956.

February 25, 1979
Tom Fleming, a two-time winner of the New York City Marathon (1973, 1975), and Sharon Barbano win the Mike Hannon 20-Mile in Central Park in 1:41:45 and 2:09:26, respectively. (Barbano went on to qualify for the 1984 Women’s Olympic Marathon Trials and is now a trustee of the Women’s Sports Foundation.)

February 25, 1990
Lisa Vaill runs 22:38 to win the Snowflake 4-Mile in Central Park on a snowy 24-degree morning; she would win six NYRR events in 1990 and become NYRR Big Apple Runner of the Year. Her identical twin sister, Teresa, an Olympic racewalker, won the 2008 Millrose Games mile walk in Madison Square Garden.

February 12 - 18

February 12, 2004
Kathryn Martin sets a world, American, and Canadian age 50-54 record of 5:17.8 for the mile at Thursday Night at the Races in the Armory.

February 14, 2008
Zofia Wieciorkowska sets an age 45-49 world record for 800 meters with her 2:16.3 at NYRR Thursday Night at the Races at the New Balance Track and Field Center at the Armory.

February 15, 1978
The first NYRR Empire State Building Run-Up—86 floors and 1,576 steps—is won by Gary Muhrcke over 14 other competitors. Dreamed up by Fred Lebow, the event attracts huge media interest.

February 17, 1985
Luis Ostolozaga (30:36) and Marilyn Hulak (36:18) win the NYRR’s eighth annual Bagel Run 10K in Central Park. Their prizes include trips to a 10K race in Hiroshima, Japan.

February 18, 2001
Bob Sweeney (3:18:03) and Ellen McCurtin (4:14:32) win the Kurt Steiner 50K in Central Park.

February 18, 2001
In the NYRR Record Challenge at the New Balance Track and Field Center at the Armory, Marla Runyan, who is legally blind, runs 15:07.33 to break Lynn Jennings’ American indoor 5000-meter record.

February 5 - 11

February 7, 1982
Twenty-year-old Jeanne Pare wins the Manufacturers Hanover Trust 5-Borough Challenge, a 5-mile race in Prospect Park, Brooklyn, in 29:02. (22 years later, Pare would win the NYRR Runner of the Year Award in the 40-44 age group.)

February 7, 2006
Andrea Mayr of Austria sets an event record of 11:23 with her victory at the NYRR Empire State Building Run-Up. (The men’s record, 9:33, was set by Paul Crake of Australia in 2003.)

February 10, 2001
Andrey Baranov (33:19) is the overall winner of the ILX Valentine’s Day Twosome 10K. Awards categories in the race include male-female, male-male, and female-female pairs in a variety of age groups.

February 11, 1980
The first annual NYRR awards banquet is held at Tavern on the Green restaurant in Central Park, hosted by Nina Kuscsik and Bob Hersh. Some 500 attendees toast the top runners and performances of the previous year. (Now known as NYRR Club Night, the awards gala will take place this year on March 6 at the Hilton New York; click here for information and to purchase tickets.)

January 29 - February 4

January 29, 1984
Richard Rothschild (1:02:51) and Jill Quigley (1:14:39) win the NYRR 20K Run.

February 2, 1993
Kurt “if you can hear my voice” Steiner, a founding member of NYRR, a member of the board of directors, and an announcer at countless NYRR races, passes away at age 71. During his life, Steiner completed 99 marathons, including the 1972 Boston Marathon in 2:58 at age 51.

February 4, 1984
Bill Reifsnyder wins the NYRR 7-Mile Reversible in Central Park in 34:01—that’s sub-4:50 pace! (Reifsnyder went on to become a two-time U.S. national marathon champion, in 1989 and 1991.)

January 22 - 28

January 22, 1989
Mike Keohane wins the NYRR Frostbite 10-Mile in Central Park in 49:35. (Keohane ran a 2:16:24 marathon that year, which ranked him 20th in the nation.)

January 24, 1982
After 24 years, NYRR cancels a race for the first time—the Winter Series 20K. The decision is made due to adverse weather conditions.

January 27, 1985
Bill Backe (1:06.19) and Gillian Beschloss (1:16.10) win the 20K Run in Central Park.

January 28, 1990
Paul Mascali wins NYRR’s Hot Chocolate 5K in 15:28. (Mascali is a nominee for 2007 NYRR Runner of the Year age 55-59 and will be honored at Club Night on March 6.)

January 28, 1998
The bylaws for the formation of the NYRR Foundation are signed. NYRR, as a not-for-profit, has always had a mandate to serve the community; through the Foundation, NYRR chooses to focus those efforts on children. The Foundation’s staff and volunteers begin by visiting a middle school in Red Hook, Brooklyn, twice a week to train 15 students. (The NYRR Foundation now serves 30,000 children per week and has a goal of serving one million children.)

January 15 - 21

January 15, 1984
Craig Virgin, the 1980 and 1981 IAAF World Cross Country champion, wins the January Winter Series 6-Mile in Central Park, clocking 29:16.

January 18, 1987
Cindi Girard wins the NYRR Frostbite 10-Mile in Central Park in 57:09. Girard is named the 1987 Big Apple Runner of the Year (an award now known as the NYRR Fred Lebow Runner of the Year and presented annually at NYRR Club Night).

January 20, 1985
In a snowstorm, Pedro Garcia wins the NYRR Frostbite 10-Mile in 54:38.

January 20, 2001
Alan Webb, an 18-year-old senior at South Lakes High School in Reston, VA, runs the first-ever sub-4:00 indoor mile by a high school boy, clocking 3:59.86 at the New Balance Track and Field Center at the Armory. NYRR’s Ian Brooks announces the race, and NYRR president and CEO Allan Steinfeld and vice president and COO Mary Wittenberg congratulate him at the finish line. (In 2007, Webb became the American record-holder in the mile.)

January 21, 2001
Cliff Sperber starts as the executive director of the NYRR Foundation. An experienced youth services manager, Sperber comes to the job with three decades of background in program development, administration, and fund-raising. His hiring solidifies NYRR’s commitment to supporting and expanding youth services. (Today, the NYRR Foundation serves 30,000 children per week in New York City and around the world.)

January 8 - 14

January 10, 1978
The first-ever NYRR running class, under the direction of Bob Glover and Nina Kuscsik, attracts 36 runners. (Glover has directed the classes ever since.)

January 12, 2002
Joe “Coach” Kleinerman, a founding member of NYRR and the longtime coach of the Millrose Athletic Association, celebrates his 90th birthday. (Kleinerman passed away in 2003 at the age of 91; the NYRR Joe Kleinerman 10K is held annually in December.)

January 13, 2000
The first NYRR Thursday Night at the Races track meet is held at the New Balance Track and Field Center at the Armory in Washington Heights, under Ian Brooks' direction. Brooks continues to direct this popular winter series; meets in 2008 take place on January 10 and 24 and February 14 and 28.

January 1 - 7

January 1, 1991
John Trautman (23:33) and Lynn Jennings (26:13) win the Midnight Run in Central Park (a 5-mile race at that time), Jennings in course-record time.

January 2, 1983
Wendy Sly of Great Britain wins the Manufacturers Hanover 5-Mile season opener in a course-record time of 26:13. (Sly won the silver medal in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic women’s 3000 meters.)

January 4, 1981
Pete Squires wins the Manufacturers Hanover 5-Borough Challenge, that year’s season opener, in 24:33.

January 5, 1981
The mortgage is signed for the NYRR International Running Center at 9 East 89th Street, and NYRR makes the purchase at a price of $1,373,000.