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127 runners (126 men and one woman) lined up in Central Park for the start of the first New York Marathon. It was September 13, 1970.
The course was four loops around the park, and the first ten finishers received wristwatches. (Today, the male and female winners receive $130,000.) Race organizer Fred Lebow (1932–1994) used his own money to purchase the prizes. The winner of the first race, Gary Muhrcke, a New York City fireman, finished with a time of 2:31:38, well off the then–world record of 2:08:34 Read More nycgovparks.org
In the 1976 the race moved to its “all five boroughs” course, and drew 2,090 entrants. The Marathon was cancelled in 2012 while New York City was recuperating from effects of Hurricane Sandy, but in 2013 the Marathon was back, with more than 50,000 runners participating.