New York, February 1, 2019 – Tadesse Yae Dabi (Manhattan) of West Side Runners and Roberta Groner (Ledgewood, New Jersey) of New York Athletic Club were honored as the 2018 Fred Lebow Runners of the Year at the 40th annual NYRR Club Night on Thursday, January 31, at the Manhattan Center. The awards were given to the male and female runners who have consistently exhibited the most superior performances over a variety of races and distances, and who have completed at least six fully scored New York Road Runners races during the last year.

“NYRR Club Night was a fantastic evening to celebrate our amazing running community, as we recognized the best runners and teams in New York City and the power of running for people of all ages and abilities,” said Michael Capiraso, president and CEO of NYRR. “Congratulations to Tadesse, Roberta and all our runners, both at the adult and youth levels who have taken part in our races over the last year and have set new personal bests and achieved their running goals.”

NYRR Club Night has been an NYRR tradition since 1980 that features an awards ceremony honoring the top-scoring teams in the previous year’s club points series, the best age-group performers of the year and special award winners. The awards committee is comprised of NYRR staff members and representatives from the local running community.

In 2018, Yae Dabi won the NYRR Percy Sutton Harlem 5K and finished in the top five in four of the NYRR Five-Borough Series races, including the Popular Brooklyn Half (fourth), NYRR Queens 10K (third), New Balance Bronx 10 Mile (third) and NYRR Staten Island Half (second). Groner won the NYRR Ted Corbitt 15K and NYRR Al Gordon 4 Mile, took second at the NYRR Queens 10K, and third at the New Balance Bronx 10 Mile. Both Tadesse and Groner finished 12th at the TCS New York City Marathon in November.

The following six Special Awards were also presented at NYRR Club Night:

• NYRR Youth Runner of the Year: Lyna Rochdi, Adama Samake
• Achilles Athlete of the Year: Alison Lynch (Manhattan), Mauricio Blandino (Queens)
• Ted Corbitt Ultrarunner of the Year: Emeline Lagache (Manhattan), Alex Lorton (Manhattan)
• NYRR Strider of the Year: Juan “Moose” Gonzalez (Bronx)
• Joe Kleinerman Award (presented in recognition of outstanding and inspiring community service): Janelle Hartman (Queens)
• Team Spirit Award: Queens Distance Runners

The complete list of NYRR Club Night winners can be found here.

NYRR serves as an umbrella organization for approximately 100 local running clubs during the year through its monthly Club Council meetings, and encourages competition among clubs at NYRR races, 11 of which were scored and designated as club points races in 2018.

At Club Night this year, NYRR commemorated what would have been the 100th birthday of its founding president, Ted Corbitt, who was born on January 31, 1919, the same day as Jackie Robinson. Corbitt devoted his long life to running, from the 200,000 miles and 223 marathons and ultramarathons he ran to the opportunities he created for other runners.

About New York Road Runners (NYRR)

NYRR’s mission is to help and inspire people through running. Since 1958, New York Road Runners has grown from a local running club to the world’s premier community running organization. NYRR’s commitment to New York City’s five boroughs features races, community events, free youth running initiatives and school programs, the NYRR RUNCENTER featuring the New Balance Run Hub, and training resources that provide hundreds of thousands of people each year, from children to seniors, with the motivation, know-how, and opportunity to Run for Life. NYRR’s premier event, and the largest marathon in the world, is the TCS New York City Marathon. Held annually on the first Sunday in November, the race features 50,000 runners, from the world’s top professional athletes to a vast range of competitive, recreational, and charity runners.  To learn more, visit www.nyrr.org.

About New York Road Runners (NYRR)

NYRR’s mission is to help and inspire people through running. Since 1958, New York Road Runners has grown from a local running club to the world’s premier community running organization. NYRR’s commitment to New York City’s five boroughs features races, community events, free youth running initiatives and school programs, the NYRR RUNCENTER featuring the New Balance Run Hub, and training resources that provide hundreds of thousands of people each year, from children to seniors, with the motivation, know-how, and opportunity to Run for Life. NYRR’s premier event, and the largest marathon in the world, is the TCS New York City Marathon. Held annually on the first Sunday in November, the race features 50,000 runners, from the world’s top professional athletes to a vast range of competitive, recreational, and charity runners.  To learn more, visit www.nyrr.org.