Runners celebrate Fred Lebow’s legacy with New York City Half Marathon

Even after he survived the Nazi occupation and World War II in Romania, Fred Lebow, a Jewish immigrant, continued to run.

And running. And running.

It was Lebow’s passion for running that led him to lead the New York Road Runners in the 1970s and turn the famous New York City Marathon into one of the biggest events in the world.

Fred Lebow October 15, 1990 in New York.

It was this passion that led him to run his last marathon in 1992 at the age of 60, when he was in remission from a brain cancer that ended his life two years later.

“He wasn’t a good runner, but he loved running,” said Sarah Katz, 86, Lebow’s sister and the last survivor of the five Lebow siblings.

“No one thought he could do it. He was in remission from cancer. He did it. All my family was there. My whole family was crying.”

Runners expect to shed tears at the January 22 New York Road Runners Fred Lebow Half Marathon in Central Park, which is held in Lebow’s honor.

The race will pass through the park just a few days before Holocaust Remembrance Day on January 27, and there is no one whose legacy can bring the two events together like Lebow.

Born Fischel Lebowitz into a large Orthodox family, Lebow grew up in Arad, Romania during the Nazi occupation.

He and one of his brothers fled during the communist takeover in Russia and were separated from the rest of their family, including his sister Sarah, for 15 years.

Left to right: Sarah Katz, Mike Lebow and Shlomo Liebowitz dedicate 89th Street and Fifth Avenue to Fred Lebow Place in 1995.

After stops in Europe, Lebow made his way to the US, where he ran a nightclub in Cleveland before moving to New York and working in the garment district.

Along the way, he changed his name to Fred Lebow, although his sister still called him Fishel.

“He loved Lebow, it sounded very French,” Katz said. “He was a very humble guy. Very sweet. He was a wonderful brother. I miss him terribly. He was a wonderful brother and a wonderful son to our parents.”

Despite running the NYRR for 20 years and turning the marathon into global status, Katz says the last thing he wants is a race in his honor.

“People thought he needed power,” Katz said.

“The only reason he needed strength was to run a marathon.”

A statue of New York Road Runners legend Fred Lebow awaits the finish line of the ING New York City Marathon in Central Park in 2007.

In fact, Lebow was an avid tennis player before he took up running.

One day, a friend suggested that he run 1.6 miles around the reservoir in Central Park, and he quickly became interested in this sport. Lebow joined the New York Road Runners, an organization he would eventually run for two decades.

Ironically, Lebow, a marathon runner, never actually ran the race he was best known for until the marathon he ran while in remission. With all the details he had to deal with, he just never had the time.

“He always wanted to run his own marathon,” Katz said. “It was a very emotional time.”

Shortly after this race, Lebow was inducted into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame in a special ceremony, three months before other inductees were honored due to his failing health.

“I’m flattered and honored and I don’t deserve it,” he said in a whisper at a ceremony in Central Park. “I’m just a peon. I’m delighted and embarrassed.”

Fred Lebow (60) and Grete Weitz (F39) cross the Pulaski Bridge on the Brooklyn-Queens border during the New York City Marathon on November 1, 1992.

Lebow wouldn’t be happy if everyone didn’t run, including his sister.

So one day Katz signed up for Fifth Avenue Mile, another event sponsored by the Lebow organization.

“I was walking. It took me 10 minutes,” Katz said. “He was very happy.”

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