Lebow Fred - Forever at the finish line: the quest to Honor New York City Marathon founder Fred Lebow with a statue in Central Park

Copyright 2016 by Daniel S. Mitrovich

Foreword copyright 2015 William Jefferson Clinton

First Skyhorse Edition 2017

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

Cover design by Tom Lau

Cover photos: Fred Lebow statue/Flickr/slgckgc and marathon runners/iStockphoto

Book design by Stories to Tell, www.StoriesToTellBooks.com

Print ISBN: 978-1-5107-3075-5

Ebook ISBN: 978-1-5107-3076-2

Printed in China

DEDICATION

I am grateful to God for his love and blessing in my life. When you come to understand that, your priorities changeand mine have.

For Linda; together we are an amazing team, and to our beautiful blended family.

Our children, Marissa, Heidi, Jess, Luke and Matthew, have always shown their love and encouragement towards me by running with me, asking me for advice on training programs, and listening to my ideas about the statue and now this book.

A special thanks to Anne Roberts, Scott Lange, my dearest friend Michael Crom, my brother George Mitrovich, George Hirsch, and Allan Steinfeld for their steadiness and inspiration.

To Henry Stern, the man who named me Statue Man and a man I call my friend.

William Jefferson Clinton for writing an introductory letter for my book and for always saying yes to support my effort in honoring Fred Lebow.

Kathrine Switzer, Kitty Kelley, and Michael Reagan for opening my eyes to what lay ahead of me in writing this book.

To Christine Robbins, for seventeen years of dedication to both Linda and me, and to Cecilia Milner who kept me on track, put up with my lack of computer skills, and demonstrated great patience in helping me write this book.

PRAISE FOR FOREVER AT THE FINISH LINE:

After spending eighteen years in the US Senate trying to solve many problems for this fine country of ours, I thought I knew the ropesbut after watching my friend Dan Mitrovich try to get a statue in New Yorks Central Park, my efforts were kid stuff! After reading this wonderful book about Dans courage and persistence, youll know one thing for sure: there is a statue of Fred Lebow in Central Park! Here you will read what it takes to overcome huge obstacles in a quest to accomplish something of great good.

Alan K. Simpson, United States Senator, Wyoming (retired)

It is an inspiring story of a man whose remarkable level of determination and ingenuity enabled him to complete a most ambitious undertaking If you want to be encouraged about your fellow man, this is a good book to read.

Ronald F. Phillips, Senior Vice Chancellor & School of Law Dean Emeritus, Pepperdine University

A perfect ending to a life well run, and a must-read for any fan of our sportnot just running, but any sport.

Tracy Sundlun, Senior VP of Global Events for the Competitor Group and Co-Founder of the RocknRoll Marathon Series

Fred Lebow was an amazing man, the founding father of the New York City Marathon. It took another amazing man, Dan Mitrovich, to have Freds statue created and then placed in Central Park. This is the compelling story of these two visionaries.

George A. Hirsch, chairman of the New York Road Runners Club and former worldwide publisher of Runners World

Contents

Foreword

Acknowledgments

Nancy and Biff Barnes

Bobby Barrett

Nicole Burrell

John B. Emerson

Paula Rahill Fahey

Thomas Galton

Sara Katz

Bob Konlpka

Scott Lange

Cristyne Nicholas

Ken Levinson

W.A. Meston., M.V.O.

Guy Morse

Colleen Reagan

Steven Rinehart

Peter Roth

Ron Rubin

Richard Ruffner

Steve Scott

Jose E. Serrano

Alan K. Simpson

Skyhorse Publishing

Estee Stimler

StoriesToTellBooks.com

Tracy Sundlun

Ron Tabb

John Tope

Dick Traum

Special thanks to David Wimbish

Prologue

THE GREAT RACE

In running, it doesnt matter whether you come in first, in the middle of the pack, or last. You can say, I have finished. There is a lot of satisfaction in that .

Fred Lebow

T HE NUMBERS ARE STAGGERING .

100,000 applicants for 50,000 plus spots.

More than two million spectators crowding the streets of New York City.

An audience of 330 million watching on television.

No disrespect to the Super Bowl, World Series, or NBA finals, but the New York City Marathon (NYCM) is undoubtedly the worlds largest and most spectacular sporting event. And unlike a Super Bowl, where fifty-three player championship rings are given out to the members of the winning team, a World Series with forty rings, or an NBA championship where there are fifteen rings, in 2016 the New York City Marathon gave out over 51,000 medals to finishers. The Marathon also raises over $340 million in revenue for the City of New York and requires the services of more than 13,000 volunteers. These include 100 linguists to assist runners from all over the world, teams of doctors, and even psychologists to aid those who run into trouble along the 26.2 mile route.

What an amazing event! And it becomes even more amazing when you consider that it grew out of a little-known run through Central Park that attracted just 127 participants in its first year, 1970.

What was it that caused this small race to blossom into the worlds best-known and biggest sports event?

Theres a simple answer:

FRED LEBOW

Fred was an unassuming man with a passion for running and a gift for encouraging others. He started running to increase his stamina because he wanted to improve his tennis game. But running soon surpassed tennis as the love of his life. He ran because he loved itnot for any other reason.

Fred went on to compete in sixty-nine marathons in more than thirty countries. He also served as the long-time president of the New York City Road Runners Club (NYRCC), an organization that grew from 270 members to more than 31,000 under his direction.

Tragically, Lebow died of cancer in 1994. But his vital role in making the Marathon what it is today is commemorated by a lifelike bronze statue of Fred that now greets exhausted, but exhilarated, runners at the finish line each year. The 600-pound statue is immediately recognizable to those who ran the Marathon prior to Freds passing. They often saw him as I did, just prior to crossing the finish line. The sculpture captured the moment so wellFred looking at his watch and shouting encouragement to runners as they gave their last few ounces of energy to reach the finish line near Tavern on the Green in Central Park.

The statue has become a New York City landmark. It is located at the 90 th Street entrance to the park just off Fifth Avenue near the runners kiosk. Its featured in dozens of tour guides to Manhattan. Every year, two days before the race, Freds statue is moved to the finish line at 66 th and Central Park West, and then the next day, after the conclusion of the Marathon, it is returned to its resting place near Engineers Gate in the Park. In the days leading up to the race, it is bedecked by flowerssome from those who remember Fred and others from those who want his blessing and luck to be with them.