Fred Lebow
Encyclopedia
New York City Marathon
The New York City Marathon is a major annual marathon that courses through the five boroughs of New York City. It is one of the largest marathons in the world, with 45,103 finishers in 2010...
. Born in Arad, Romania
Arad, Romania
Arad is the capital city of Arad County, in western Romania, in the Crişana region, on the river Mureş.An important industrial center and transportation hub, Arad is also the seat of a Romanian Orthodox archbishop and features two universities, a Romanian Orthodox theological seminary, a training...
, he presided over the transformation of the race from one with 55 finishers in 1970 to one of the largest marathons in the world with over 43,660 finishers in 2009. He was posthumously inducted into the National Distance Running Hall of Fame in 2001.
Lebow ran in the inaugural marathon in 1970, finishing 45th out of 55 runners with a time of 4:12:09. He ran his last NYC Marathon on November 1, 1992 in celebration of his 60th birthday, after being diagnosed with brain cancer in early 1990, with his dear friend, 9 time NYC Marathon women's winner Grete Waitz
Grete Waitz
Grete Waitz was a Norwegian marathon runner and former world record holder. Waitz won nine New York City Marathons between 1978 and 1988, more than any other runner in history...
with a time of 5:32:35.
During his career he completed 69 marathons in 30 countries. Along with the NYC Marathon he also organized the Empire State Building Run Up, the Fifth Avenue Mile, and the Crazy Legs Mini Marathon, the first strictly women's race. Lebow was also president of the New York Road Runners Club
New York Road Runners
New York Road Runners , founded in 1958 with 47 members, has grown into the foremost running organization, with a membership of 40,000. NYRR conducts more than 100 events each year, including races, classes, clinics, and lectures...
for twenty years.
His memorial service at the finish line of the New York City Marathon, attracted a crowd of 3,000 mourners, which was, at that time, the largest memorial gathering in Central Park since the death of John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
.
Legacy
In 1991, Lebow established Fred's Friends as the first official charity of the New York Marathon. The program uses marathon runners to raise funds for cancer research..In 1995, Fred's Team was established in honor of Fred Lebow. Every year, hundreds of athletes of all abilities join Fred's Team to compete in marathons, half-marathons, triathlons, bike races and other endurance events around the world to raise funds for pioneering research at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Since 1995, Fred's Team has raised over $42 million, and thousands of athletes have experienced the personal reward of training, competing, and raising funds for essential research that has changed and saved lives.
In Lebow's honor, a sculpture of him was created by Jesus Ygnacio Dominguez. Unveiled on November 4, 1994, it depicts Lebow timing runners with his watch. In 2001, the statue was moved to its permanent location on the East Side Central Park Drive at 90th St. Every year, however, the statue is moved to a spot in view of the finish line of the Marathon.
In popular culture
The movie Run for Your Life tells the story of Lebow and the New York City Marathon.External links
- Run for Your Life Documentary film by Judd EhrlichJudd EhrlichJudd Ehrlich is the American director and producer of the Emmy-nominated 2006 public television documentary Mayor of the West Side and the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival premiere and public television documentary Run for Your Life....
about the life of Fred Lebow. - Fred Lebow in the National Distance Running Hall of Fame
- Fred Lebow's Race To The Finish
- Fred Lebow's last NY marathon