Fred Lebow

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Statue of Fred Lebow at the finish line of the New York City Marathon

Fred Lebow (born June 3, 1932 as Fischel Lebowitz in Arad , Romania , † October 9, 1994 in New York City ) was a Romanian-American marathon runner who organized the New York City Marathon and other races in New York City .

Born the sixth of seven children, he fled as an Orthodox Jew, first from the Nazis and later from the Communists. In 1949 he emigrated to the USA and settled in New York.

Fitness training in Central Park for his favorite sport at the time, tennis, sparked his enthusiasm for long-distance running, after which he joined the New York Road Runners .

From 1970 to 1993 he was the Race Director of the New York City Marathon. Within a few years, he turned this local running event into one of the most important marathons in the world. It was thanks to Fred Lebow that the 1976 marathon was able to switch from a circular route (four laps) in Central Park to a route through all five New York administrative districts against the resistance of the New York City Council.

In 1990 he was diagnosed with a brain tumor. In 1992 he fulfilled one last great wish: he ran “his” marathon together with the nine-time winner Grete Waitz .

Fred Lebow died of cancer on October 9, 1994, six weeks after the US Athletics Federation inducted him into its Hall of Fame. In his honor there is a memorial opposite the Guggenheim Museum on 5th Avenue in Central Park by the reservoir, which is always brought to the New York Marathon near the finish line, which is next to the "Tavern on the Green".

Lebow's work was also recognized on film. In the documentary "Run for Your Life" his life path was traced, from his escape from Europe, his beginnings in the textile industry, his importance for running in New York and beyond, to his untimely death. The documentary "Free to Run" traces, among other things, Lebow's life within the running scene in the USA and his involvement in the decision that marathon runners receive regular prize money and no longer a "bribe".

literature

  • Harald Krämer, Klaus Zobel, Werner Irro (eds.): Marathon. A running book in 42,195 chapters . Verlag die Werkstatt, Göttingen 2004, ISBN 3-89533-464-2 , p. 211 ff.
  • Ron Rubin: Anything for a T-Shirt. Fred Lebow and the New York City Marathon, the World's Greatest Footrace . University Press, Syracuse, NY 2004, ISBN 0-8156-0806-3 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Judd Ehrlich: Run for Your Life. October 29, 2008, accessed April 30, 2018 .
  2. ^ Pierre Morath: Free to Run. July 15, 2016. Retrieved April 29, 2018 .
personal data
SURNAME Lebow, Fred
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Lebowitz, Fischel
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Romanian-American marathon runner and organizer of the New York City Marathon
DATE OF BIRTH June 3, 1932
PLACE OF BIRTH Arad , Romania
DATE OF DEATH October 9, 1994
Place of death New York City , New York , United States