History of the First Marathon

When the morning of September 13, 1970 dawned, Gary Muhrcke wasn't even sure he could run around the block, let alone compete in a marathon. Muhrcke was a New York City firefighter and had been up all night answering the fire alarm. By the time morning dawned, all he wanted to do was stay in bed. It was only at the behest of his wife and three small children, intent on a family outing in Central Park, that he went to the race at all. Muhrke not only went, but won, with a time of 2:31:44. He was crowned with a laurel wreath created by his wife Jane, who continued to construct winners' crowns well into the 1990's.

Fred Lebow and Grete Waitz at 1992 Marathon Finish

The first New York City Marathon was a decidedly low-budget event. The New York Road Runners Club gave co-directors Fred Lebow and Vince Chiappetta just $1,000 for organization and promotion. They improvised - unused bowling trophies were recycled to be presented to the winners, and Lebow had to come up with prizes on his own, digging deeply into his own pocket to buy wrist watches to present to the winners.

The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) had not yet officially sanctioned women marathoners, but the organizers of the New York Marathon had decided from the very beginning that their event would be not be gender-specific - anyone could compete. Lebow made sure that Nina Kuscsik, a well-known runner around the New York Metropolitan area, was at the starting line. Unfortunately, although Kuscsik had trained hard over the summer months preceding the race, she had suffered from a virus and fever just the week before the marathon and was forced to drop out after 14 miles.

One hundred twenty-seven runners paid the $1 entry fee to enter the first New York Marathon. Only 55 of them finished the course, which comprised four circuits of Central Park, and only about 100 spectators were there to cheer on the participants at the finish. A very modest beginning indeed for what was to become the premier road racing event in the world.