70 Fun Facts About New York City Marathon

In what year was the first New York City Marathon held?

George Spitz dreamed it up, Fred Lebow and Vince Chiappetta organized it, and only about 100 people watched.

How many runners finished the first New York City Marathon in 1970?

Gary Muhrcke won in 2:31:38 after several loops of Central Park's Park Drive.

Who won the first New York City Marathon?

His time was 2:31:38 on the Central Park course measured by Ted Corbitt.

Who was the only woman to enter the first New York City Marathon in 1970?

She fell ill and dropped out at 15 miles, but won the race in 1972.

The 'NYC Six' protested a 1972 rule requiring women to start how long before the men?

They sat down at the start holding signs, then ran with the men; the rule was dropped later that year.

Norbert Sander and Kathrine Switzer, the 1974 winners, share what distinction?

Bill Rodgers, a future four-time champion, was fifth that year among 259 finishers.

Kathrine Switzer became the first officially registered woman to run which race in 1967?

Race manager Jock Semple tried to tear off her bib number mid-race.

Who proposed that the race traverse all five boroughs to celebrate the US bicentennial in 1976?

What was meant as a one-off became the permanent course, with Manhattan Borough President Percy Sutton's support.

Who won the first five-borough marathon in 1976 in a course-record 2:10:10?

He beat Olympic silver medalist Frank Shorter by more than three minutes and would win four straight.

Dick Traum made history at the 1976 race by becoming the first person to complete a marathon with what?

He went on to found the Achilles Track Club, now Achilles International, in 1983.

Which Norwegian broke the women's world record in her 1978 New York debut with 2:32:30?

She went on to win the race an unprecedented nine times.

How many New York City Marathons did the Norwegian champion of 1978 win in total?

It is the most wins in any single big-city marathon in history; the 10K 'Grete's Great Gallop' honors her.

In 1979 the reigning women's champion became the first woman to break what barrier in the marathon?

Her 2:27:33 came on the day the race first topped 10,000 finishers.

Rosie Ruiz's mistaken 1979 New York finish time qualified her for which race, where her fraud was exposed?

It was determined she had not run the full course in either race.

Alberto Salazar's 2:09:41 win in 1980 was notable as what?

He defended his title in 1981 and 1982.

Why was Alberto Salazar's 1981 'world best' of 2:08:13 later rescinded?

Salazar blamed poor crowd control that forced him to run wide on turns.

In 1983 Rod Dixon of New Zealand caught which Englishman at the 26-mile mark to win by nine seconds?

Dixon, a 1972 Olympic 1500m bronze medalist, had been two and a half minutes behind with 10 km to go.

Orlando Pizzolato won the hot 1984 race despite stopping how many times with heat cramps?

His 2:14:53 was the slowest winning time since 1976, and he repeated more easily in 1985.

From 1984 to 1986 the men's winner came from which country three years running?

Pizzolato won twice and Gianni Poli won in 1986, the first year the race was held in November.

Who in 1987 became the first African man to win the New York City Marathon?

Priscilla Welch of Britain won the women's race that year while Waitz sat out.

In 1992 the nine-time women's champion ran the whole race beside founder Fred Lebow to mark what?

Lebow had brain cancer; they finished together in 5:32:35 and he died in 1994.

Fred Lebow, founder of the race, was born under what name in Arad, Romania?

A Holocaust survivor, he presided over the race's growth from 55 finishers to more than 50,000.

Which 1994 winner earned the nickname 'Wrong Way' after a detour seven-tenths of a mile from the finish?

He ran a 5:15 final mile including the detour and beat Paredes by two seconds.

Tegla Loroupe's 1994 victory made her the first woman from where to win the race?

She repeated in 1995, the coldest race ever, with a 40-degree start and wind chills in the upper 20s.

An official wheelchair division was first included in the New York City Marathon in what year?

Prize money followed in 2001, and elite women got a 35-minute head start from 2002.

Tesfaye Jifar's 2001 course record of 2:07:43, set weeks after 9/11, stood until who broke it in 2011?

Mutai ran 2:05:06 and became the first man to win Boston and New York in course-record time in the same year.

Which woman's 2003 course record of 2:22:31 stood for many years?

She had set the previous record of 2:24:21 in 2001.

Which rapper ran the 2003 race for charity and raised $2 million for New York City schools?

The race that year drew a record 34,729 participants.

The closest finish in race history came in 2005 when Paul Tergat beat Hendrick Ramaala by how much?

Ramaala had won the year before, and Paula Radcliffe's 2004 win by four seconds had been the previous closest.

Marílson Gomes dos Santos, the 2006 and 2008 winner, was the first champion from where?

He beat Stephen Kiogora and defending champion Paul Tergat in 2006.

Which cyclist ran the 2006 New York City Marathon in 2:59:36, finishing 868th?

Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee also finished that year wearing bib #110 for the 110 pounds he had lost.

Paula Radcliffe won New York three times; her 2007 win was how much faster than her 2004 win?

She won in 2:23:10 in 2004 and 2:23:09 in 2007, then took a third title in 2008.

Meb Keflezighi's 2009 victory made him the first American man to win since whom?

That race was also the first marathon anywhere with more than 40,000 official finishers.

Which world record holder dropped out at mile 16 in 2010 with a bad knee and briefly retired?

Gebregziabher Gebremariam won that year in his first-ever marathon.

Which trapped Chilean miner, rescued in 2010, ran the New York City Marathon in 2011?

Mark Messier and Edwin van der Sar also ran that year, and Alex Zanardi won the handcycle class.

Why was the 2012 New York City Marathon cancelled?

Mayor Bloomberg called it off two days before the race after saying three days earlier that it would go ahead.

Which company became the race's title sponsor in 2014 under an eight-year deal?

The race was renamed the TCS New York City Marathon.

Shalane Flanagan's 2017 win made her the first American woman to win since what year?

The Marblehead, Massachusetts native ran 2:26:53, with Mary Keitany second.

Mary Keitany's fourth New York title in 2018 featured what record?

She ran the second 13.1 miles in 1:06:58 to finish in 2:22:48.

Who set the men's course record of 2:04:58 in 2023?

Hellen Obiri won the women's race that year and returned in 2025 to set a course record of 2:19:51.

Hellen Obiri set the women's course record in 2025 with what time?

Benson Kipruto won the men's race that year in 2:08:09.

The race starts on Staten Island at which former military post near the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge?

Runners use both sides of the bridge's upper level and the westbound side of the lower level.

The Verrazzano-Narrows crossing, where the race begins, held what record when it opened in 1964?

The Humber Bridge in England took the title in 1981.

Roughly how many miles of the course run through Brooklyn?

Runners follow Fourth and Bedford avenues through Bay Ridge, Sunset Park, Park Slope, Bed-Stuy, Williamsburg and Greenpoint.

Which crossing marks the halfway point and the entrance into Queens?

It leads into Long Island City at 13.109 miles.

Marathoners cross from Queens into Manhattan on the lower deck of which bridge, a brutal climb?

Many runners begin to tire around this point, just before the roar of First Avenue.

How long does the course spend in the Bronx?

Runners enter via the Willis Avenue Bridge and leave via the Madison Avenue Bridge before heading down Fifth Avenue through Harlem.

At which cross street does the course enter Central Park from Fifth Avenue?

It then runs along Central Park South and re-enters the park at Columbus Circle to finish by Tavern on the Green.

Beside which restaurant does the marathon finish?

The very first course in 1970 also started and ended at Tavern on the Green.

What is the '9+1' program that grants guaranteed entry?

Other routes in are 15 prior finishes, time qualification, charity teams and the lottery, which admits only 2-3% of applicants.

On which day of the year is the New York City Marathon held?

It moved from late October to November in 1986; the latest date ever was November 14, 1993.

Which was the hottest race day in marathon history, reaching 80 °F?

The coldest was November 12, 1995, which reached only 43 °F with an intense wind chill.

Roughly how many spectators line the course each year?

Since 2013 the race has been broadcast by WABC-TV and ESPN.

How many finishers did the 2025 race record, making it among the largest marathons in the world?

More than 200,000 people applied for the 2025 race.

The 2021 race, the 50th running, was capped at how many competitors due to pandemic precautions?

Albert Korir and Peres Jepchirchir were the winners.

Who founded New York Road Runners, the race's organizer, in 1958?

He started with 47 members; the club's first marathon was the Cherry Tree Marathon in the Bronx in 1959.

Which country swept the men's top three places for the first time in 2002?

Rodgers Rop won, and it was also the first year Kenyans won both the men's and women's races.

Which Swiss wheelchair racer won the 2016 men's wheelchair race in 1:35:49?

Tatyana McFadden won the women's wheelchair race that year, and Lauren Lubin ran as the first openly non-binary athlete.

Mary Wittenberg, who ran the 2005 event as NYRR CEO, was the first woman to do what?

She later faced criticism over the handling of the 2012 cancellation.

Which former NHL star finished the 2011 race in 4:14:21 at age 50?

Dutch goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar ran 4:19 and called it the toughest thing he had ever done.

Where does the name 'marathon' come from?

Herodotus actually has Philippides running from Athens to Sparta, over 150 miles each way, to ask for help.

The official race times are 'net times', calculated by what?

Timing mats at every 5 km let followers receive e-mail split notifications.

Whose brainchild was the first New York City Marathon of 1970?

Lebow and Road Runners president Vincent Chiappetta organised it; 127 competitors ran loops of Central Park before about 100 spectators.

How many competitors started the first New York City Marathon in 1970?

Only 55 of them crossed the finish line, with Gary Muhrcke winning in 2:31:38.

In which year was the race day moved from late October to November?

The latest ever race date was November 14, 1993; the first race, on September 13, 1970, was the earliest.

Which two broadcasters took over live coverage of the marathon from 2013?

Before 2013 the race aired on WNBC locally and Universal Sports nationally; ESPN Deportes added Spanish coverage from 2022.

Who in 1988 became the first British man to win the New York City Marathon?

He won in 2:08:20 the same year Grete Waitz claimed her ninth and final title.

Which woman remains the only Polish winner of the race, taking the 1990 title?

She won in 2:30:45 in the year Grete Waitz attempted a tenth title; Kenya's Douglas Wakiihuri won the men's race.

In which year was prize money first added to the New York City Marathon?

The year before, 2000, had seen the first official wheelchair divisions for men and women.

Roughly how many athletes took part in the virtual race held in place of the cancelled 2020 marathon?

It ran from 17 October to 1 November 2020; the following year's race became the 50th running.