The New York City Marathon may be the last major on the calendar, but the four month wait until the cycle repeats isn’t the only reason its impact is so lasting. Four months is plenty of time to reflect, but you need something to reflect upon first. Luckily, reflecting seems to be the New York City Marathon speciality. It certainly makes others do it. Take the founders of London, inspired by the New York running scene, or Chicago, its longtime rival, for example. But it also does it itself. Like all endings, the New York City Marathon ties everything into a neat little bow. If you look closely, you’ll find links to almost every other major marathon in its story. Symbolism was designed to be hidden, but made to be uncovered.
When was the New York City Marathon founded?
The New York Road Runners Club founded the New York City Marathon alongside a man called Fred Lebow in 1970. It was built on nothing more than the joy of running, the only guarantee of a lasting foundation, and the only thing that can explain the fact that the course involved running laps around central park. 42.195km is a lot of laps. So many that unless your love for running is absolutely unwavering, you might just go crazy. But this is where it all started. In order to be influential, you have to bend the rules. Defy order. And in that first marathon in 1970, New York City did nothing short of that. It allowed women to race.
Women in the New York Marathon
You’ll remember from the Boston chapter that according to the rules of the Amateur Athletics Union at the time, women couldn’t run marathons. It was deemed harmful to their health, and if they wanted to race, the only way to do so was undercover. Under the cover of baggy sweatshirts and shorts, that is. But in New York that year there was no need to hide. Any female times couldn’t be made official, but their participation would be recognised. When the only feeling you know is that of being unwelcome, you’ll take anything as a relief. There was just one woman who raced that day. The story goes she dropped out due to illness, but the framing doesn’t do it justice.
She had control. She wasn’t forced to drop out by the other racers or made to feel uncomfortable. The victory lay in that, and not across the finish line. At least not across the New York City Marathon finish line. Because that woman was Nina Kuscsik. And two years later in 1972, she would go on to become the first officially-recognised female winner of the Boston Marathon.
The story of Rosie Ruiz continues
But Nina Kuscsik wasn’t the only woman whose journey actually began in New York. Remember Rosie Ruiz? There’s a prologue to that story too, and it dates back to the 1979 New York City Marathon. If you did the Boston chapter, you’ll know where this is going. And the answer is no, Rosie Ruiz did not run the New York City Marathon. She decided to take the fast lane instead, or in this case, the New York subway.
Only she didn’t even cross the finish line. This story didn’t end in deceit, it ended in a mistake. A mistake that, while also to do with timing, wasn’t hers to make. When the race was over, Rosie Ruiz supposedly earned a finishing time of 2:56:29. Which, luckily for her and not many others, happened to be enough to qualify for the 1980 Boston Marathon. The first domino had fallen. And so began the chain of events which led Rosie Ruiz to, in the end, ruin.
How inclusive is the New York Marathon?
From the very start, the New York City Marathon has set the standard for inclusion, and not just for women. Having a welcome atmosphere is one thing. To actually have people come to your welcome atmosphere is another entirely. And in this ambit, the New York City Marathon is one of many firsts. In 1976, Dick Traum became the first person to ever complete a marathon with a prosthetic leg. In 2005, Mary Wittenberg took over as CEO of the New York Road Runners, making her the first woman to ever direct a major marathon. And most recently in 2021, the New York City Marathon became the first major to introduce a category for non-binary athletes, a milestone to which the subsequently-introduced prize money can be added.
In keeping with its well-timed resurgence, the Chicago Marathon was the first to follow suit a year later, and after Tokyo introduced the category in 2025, all 6 majors now have a non-binary representation. The New York City Marathon may serve as the guiding light for inclusion, but when you compare its 56 years of growth to Tokyo’s 19, the latter appears to be way ahead of schedule.
The New York City Marathon course
56 is the official age of the New York City Marathon, but like almost every other major and the King of England, it has two birthdays to celebrate. After all, these courses see a lot of changes, and some end up being big enough to completely distinguish the marathon we know today from the one that started it all. In the case of New York, you can probably anticipate the change I’m going to mention. Something about running laps around Central Park wasn’t the most appealing. Maybe because after the second time, you’ve seen all there is to see, and have nothing else to focus on but the pain in your legs.
And so came 1976, when to celebrate the US bicentennial, the New York City Marathon course changed routes to pass through all 5 boroughs of the city. To the surprise of, in hindsight, no one, this change was so successful that from then on the course remained as it was. From the most monotonous, to the most varied possible. Then a year later another option made itself known to us. 29 Chicago neighbourhoods were also now on display in the form of a marathon course.
Fast times in the New York Marathon
The modern New York City Marathon course wasn’t just designed for cultural purposes though. It’s no stranger to fast times either. In fact, New York served as the main stage to showcase the talents of prolific distance runner Grete Waitz of Norway. A good friend of co-founder Fred Lebow, she was first invited to run the New York City Marathon in 1978. And it’s safe to say she didn’t let the opportunity go to waste. Not only did she win, but she did so in a new world record, which she would then go on to lower the next year when she became the first woman to ever run a sub-2:30 marathon. But her legacy doesn’t end there. Across her career, Grete Waitz secured 9 New York victories, the most times anyone has ever won a single major marathon to this day.
Perhaps most impactful though was what she did afterwards. In 1992, Grete Waitz completed her last ever New York City Marathon, 4 years after her 9th win in 1988. She ran every step of the way alongside her friend Fred Lebow, in remission from brain cancer, and they crossed the line together in 5:32:34. Fred Lebow was the impulse behind her incredible New York City victories- the one who started it all. And it was only fitting that she end her journey with him, together. This time she wasn’t competing, she was celebrating, and when Fred Lebow lost his life to cancer 2 years later, that would be the memory that stayed.
What happened in 2001?
Fast times can become symbolic times. And tragic times can also make for joyful times. Just ask Berlin, or New York. The rise of the Berlin wall, the falling of the Twin Towers, two opposite forces that attract the same result: the destruction of public morale. Only there is nothing more powerful, or more uniting, than running. In 2001, the New York City Marathon once again proved defiant, taking place less than 2 months after the attack. So much had been destroyed, but the marathon community proved unbreakable.
Part of what makes that community so unbreakable is its size. Growth may be happening faster for the younger marathons, but the success of New York City is hardly plateauing. In fact it seems as if New York and London are in a constant battle, passing back and forth the trophy for the largest marathon in the world. New York City is currently winning that battle, having reclaimed its record for the highest number of participants (59,226) from London at its 2025 edition in November, but with London next on the 2026 calendar these records are best left pencilled in, rather than set in stone.
How popular is the New York City Marathon?
Over the course of this chapter I’ve mentioned links the New York City Marathon has to every other major marathon. Some more subtle than others, but there all the same. Its influence is eerily extensive, to the point where connection even exists with a trending topic in the marathon scene as of writing. I’m talking about the drama that was the women’s US half marathon trials and the LA Marathon. The drama that was, wrong turns. In both of these recent cases the race leader lost their position and the ultimate victory after either a misdirection, or simply mistake, in their navigation of the course.
And it just so happens that the New York City Marathon also had a famous case of the sort. One which also caused a media frenzy, but this time for the opposite reason. Because in 1994, when race leader German Silva of Mexico took a wrong turn into Central Park, he not only corrected himself, but his mistake too. Of those 12 seconds he lost, he gained 14. 12 to catch up to his training partner, and 2 to secure the victory.
The New York City Marathon’s cultural relevance and demand has never been higher. The fact that its acceptance rate for 2026 lottery applications has dropped to 1% only serves as further proof. But that neat bow it ties our story into, all those links and nods to the majors that come before it, it’s all about to be unravelled.
The story of the Abbott Marathon Majors isn’t over yet
The New York City Marathon isn’t done growing. And neither are the Abbott World Marathon Majors. The last chapter of this story, might just be the first chapter of a new story. One in which the New York City Marathon isn’t last on the calendar, it’s second last. One in which the major marathons don’t cover three continents, they cover four. One in which there aren’t 7 races, there are 9. One in which the 7 Abbott World Marathon Majors, alongside 2027 recruits Shanghai and Cape Town, all lived happily ever after.
Written by- Rosana Ercilla
