‘Few things in life match the thrill of a marathon.’ ~ Fred Lebow
Boston may have been the oldest marathon in the USA, but the way Run For Your Life tells it, it was the New York City Marathon (NYCM) that put the idea of the big-city, road race on the map, which accelerated the popularity of running in general. In 1970, the first New York event consisted of four circuits around Central Park. It then progressed in 1976 into its much-hailed ambitious route, when the race expanded to include all five of the city’s boroughs. The NYC Marathon attracted some 2,000 athletes, including Olympians Frank Shorter and Bill Rodgers (who went on to win it four years in a row). It has attracted media celebrities like Lance Armstrong to race in it seriously.
Run For Your Life – The Fred Lebow Story is a documentary of the fascinating founder and maverick promoter of the New York City (NYC) Marathon. The Romanian immigrant started the race with 55 runners and it phenomenally grew into 43,660 participants in 2009.
The success of the NYCM was due to the vision and persistence of the marathon’s founder: Fred Lebow. He was a influential businessperson (and celebrity in the fashion circle) in the garment industry (where he was skilled at copying expensive designs and selling them as 'knock-offs') when he became a long-distance running aficionado.
In this documentary, Lebow’s coterie of friends, foes, family, politicians and athletes reminisce about him in producer-director, Judd Ehrlich’s film. They described Lebow as everything from a brilliant promoter and entrepreneur to a ‘chaos creator’ and a ‘master manipulator’. One thing is unarguably clear - they all agreed that without him, the NYCM would never have hit its stride. It was Lebow who wooed the sponsors (then an unheard of proposition for a running event), attracted the best runners (also including Grete Waitz, who won the women’s division an amazing nine times, and Alberto Salazar, another multiple winner), and convincingly earned permission from the city officials into closing bridges and streets along the route. He also dealt with major controversy, including disqualifying the notorious Rosie Ruiz, who allegedly cheated (and won) in the New York race before achieving lasting infamy by ‘winning’ the Boston Marathon in 1980.
It is interesting to note that Lebow did not compete in his own race until 1992, when he took part a few years after being diagnosed with brain cancer (still single, he died, in 1994). Waitz ran it with Lebow, who completed it in about 5:35; Waitz never ran another marathon after that. Run For Your Life includes the director’s commentary, deleted scenes, and more. (Available in Singapore at video shops, under the Imported section).
Every year, the lottery for entry (which costs US$11) to the NYCM (which costs US$30 million to organize) attracts about 110,000 runners. I missed the chance for slot this year, and will attempt again next year by results and/or lottery. Keep running, and hopefully, we meet in the five boroughs in November next year.
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