Since the times of Ancient Greece and Rome, running has been an essential component in competitions and public entertainment. The increase in demand resulted from the process of popularizing knowledge and techniques among people.

This sport has survived, having experienced many reformations and transformations. Today it is the Top 6 main races – Majors. They are the most famous on the whole planet. New York City running competition is one of them. New York has the largest fan base ever. Here is the most difficult and most massive route.

The grand event origin chronology

The New York City Competition starts every year in late autumn in the United States. The traditional date is the first Sunday in November. The tradition began in 1970. Back then, runner and connoisseur Fred Lebow founded the event.

Who knew that it would take on a global scale?

New York Marathon
Origin date 1970
Country USA
Location New York
Founder Fred Lebow
Distance 42 km
Frequency Annually
Records 2003 – 2:22:31/2011 – 2:05:06
Famous participants Fred Lebow, Bill Rogers, Greta Weitz, Alberto Salazar, Ibrahim Hussein

 

The Central Park of the metropolis kindly hosted the first race. 50 years ago, you couldn’t even mention a roadblock, so everything went quickly. 55 people took part, and the founder Fred himself finished 45th.

Small Decision Development Trends

As time passed, the number of participants increased, and their results grew. Central Park can’t fit everyone. Six years after the start, the organizers decided to move the location. Now the race took place on the streets of the metropolis.

Just in 1976, the location covered all areas of the city. The new track was greeted by more than 2 thousand people – a record at that time. In 1976, the world met the future marathon legend, Bill Rogers. In the future, he will finish the first 4 times.

Two years later, Greta Weitz from Norway will set a great time – 2 hours, 32 minutes, and 30 seconds. Until today, the name Greta Weitz is a symbol of the event. Her nine victories made history in front of the audience.

By the end of the 70s, there were more than 10 thousand participants. Every year the number grew. In 2022, the marathon was completed by more than 70 thousand. It is such an impressive figure.

New York Marathon prominent champions over some last seasons

Each winner of the race will forever remain in the memory of the audience. In addition, the general list of victors will proudly bear his name. Over the past 15 years, many people have taken part. There was only one winner in each season.

Year Country Winner Time
2006 Australia Kurt Fearnley 1:29:22
2007 Australia Kurt Fearnley 1:33:58
2008 Australia Kurt Fearnley 1:44:51
2009 Australia Kurt Fearnley 1:35:58
2010 United Kingdom David Weir 1:37:29
2011 Japan Masazumi Soejima 1:31:41
2013 Switzerland Marcel Hug 1:40:14
2014 Australia Kurt Fearnley 1:30:55
2015 South Africa Ernst van Dyuk 1:30:54
2016 Switzerland Marcel Hug 1:35:44
2017 Switzerland Marcel Hug 1:37:17
2018 USA Daniel Romanchuk 1:36:21
2019 USA Daniel Romanchuk 1:38:27
2021 Kenya Evans Chebet 1:28:41
2022 Kenya Evans Chebet 1:27:12

 

Unforeseen events upset participants and spectators

We have already mentioned that the event has been traditionally organized annually since 1970. This is all true. But twice in its history, the organizers were forced to deviate from the rules. Everything happened, of course, not through their fault or desire.

On the way, there were insurmountable circumstances. The event was first canceled in 2012. The reason for this was Hurricane Sandy. Two days before the start, the organizers still canceled the race.

The second case is in 2020. The coronavirus pandemic broke all the plans. It was 2020 that was supposed to be the 50th anniversary year. Fate decided otherwise. The consequences of the pandemic could become irreversible.

The organizers postponed the celebration of the anniversary to 2021. Then the 50th race was successfully held.