No one should run the New York City Marathon, or any other marathon for that matter, without knowing the name Fred Lebow.
By all accounts Fred Lebow was a quietly tenacious man who had one love, running. Born Fischel Lebowitz, he left his native Romania fleeing first the Nazis and then the Soviets. Arriving in the USA he created a successful business and at the same time he became part of the burgeoning jogging revolution.
In 1970 he organised the first New York Marathon in which he and 54 other finishers ran a course that looped Central Park. He finished 45th and and American institution was created. Fred ran his last New York Marathon in 1992 but between his first and his last he ran 69 marathons in 30 countries, Fred liked to run marathons.
In Lebow’s honor, a sculpture of him was commissioned and unveiled on 4th November 1994, 2 days before the 25th New York City marathon. We ran that marathon and it was far from sombre, the event became a celebration of the life and achievements of Fred and we were really pleased to be part of it
The statue is now located at Engineer’s Gate on Central Park and in front of the New York Road Runners Club, the club that Fed Lebow presided over for 20 years and where he also organized the Fifth Avenue Mile, the Empire State Building Run Up, and the Crazy Legs Mini Marathon, New York’s 1st strictly women’s race.
But don’t worry about finding Fred’s statue at marathon time because it’s then that you’ll find him exactly where he should be: at the finish line of the New York City Marathon.
