New York Road Runners (NYRR) is a

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

running organization based in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

whose mission is to help and inspire people through running. It was founded in 1958 by

Ted Corbitt Ted Corbitt (January 31, 1919 – December 12, 2007)"Heroes of Running", interview by Gail Kislevitz in ''Runner's World'', December 2007, p. 70. Corbitt confirmed 1919 to the interviewer as his year of birth. was an American long-distance ru ...

with 47 members and has since grown to a membership of more than 60,000. As of 2012, it was considered to be the premiere running organization in the United States.

History

Following his establishment of the

Road Runners Club of America Founded in 1958, the Road Runners Club of America (RRCA) is the oldest and largest distance running organization in the United States with over 1,500 running club and event members representing 200,000 individual runners active in their running c ...

in 1957, Ted Corbitt became the founding president of New York Road Runners in 1958. Fred Lebow, founder of the New York City Marathon, succeeded him and served as president from 1972-1993. Under Lebow's tenure, two other signature races (the Fifth Avenue Mile and Women's Mini) were established. Allan Steinfeld succeeded Lebow and was named technical director of the New York City Marathon, which he was credited with modernizing, in 1981. In 2005,

Mary Wittenberg Mary Wittenberg ( Robertson; born July 17, 1962) is an American sports executive who serves as President (corporate title), president of professional women's association football, women's soccer club NJ/NY Gotham FC. She was previously the presi ...

succeeded Steinfeld as president and CEO of NYRR. She also became the first female director of the

New York City Marathon The New York City Marathon (currently branded TCS New York City Marathon after its headline sponsor (commercial), sponsor) is an annual Marathon (sport), marathon () that courses through the five boroughs of New York City. It is the largest mar ...

. As of 2021, the CEO is Kerin Hempel, who replaced Michael Capiraso in 2020. Capiraso had succeeded longtime CEO Mary Wittenberg. George Hirsch is the organization's chair. From 1981 through 2015, NYRR was headquartered on the Upper East Side on East 89th Street (also known as Fred Lebow Place), not far from Central Park. Upon the sale of that building, they announced a move to and creation of a Run Center near

Columbus Circle Columbus Circle is a traffic circle and heavily trafficked intersection in the New York City borough of Manhattan, located at the intersection of Eighth Avenue, Broadway, Central Park South ( West 59th Street), and Central Park West, at the ...

the following year. Prior to 1981, it was based at the

West Side YMCA 5 West 63rd Street is a 14-storey building in the Upper West Side neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, near the western edge of Central Park (Central Park West). It is part of the Upper West Side Historic District. Completed in 1930 and ...

Community

NYRR serves nearly 600,000 runners of all ages and abilities annually through hundreds of races, community open runs, walks, training sessions, and other running-related programming, with 267,000 youth participating in free fitness programs and events nationally, including 134,000 in New York City’s five boroughs.

Abebe Bikila Award

The club gives out the

Abebe Bikila Award The Abebe Bikila Award is an annual prize given by the New York Road Runners club (NYRR) to honour individuals who have made a significant contribution to the sport of long-distance running. The first recipient of the award was Ted Corbitt, a fou ...

annually in recognition of individuals who have contributed to the sport of

running Running is a method of terrestrial locomotion allowing humans and other animals to move rapidly on foot. Running is a type of gait characterized by an aerial phase in which all feet are above the ground (though there are exceptions). This i ...

. First awarded in 1978 and named in honor of Olympic marathon winner Abebe Bikila, the award is presented in November immediately before the start of NYRR's International Friendship Run. Radcliffe named as Abebe Bikila Award Winner

IAAF World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body fo ...

/NYRR (2006-10-28). Retrieved on 2010-10-31.

Races

Races are held nearly every weekend and includes destination races such as the: * TCS New York City Marathon * United Airlines NYC Half *

UAE Healthy Kidney 10K The UAE Healthy Kidney 10K was an annual road running event over 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) that took place in May in New York City in the United States. The event featured both an elite-level men's race and a general mass race for fun runners. Almo ...

New York Mini 10K The Mastercard New York Mini 10K is an annual 10-kilometer road running competition for women that takes place in Central Park, New York City, in the United States. The race has been organised by New York Road Runners since 1972. The competition ...

* New Balance 5th Avenue Mile

References

{{reflist

External links

Official Site
Road running in the United States Running clubs in the United States Sports in New York (state) 1958 establishments in New York City