On November 2, 1992, the morning of the New York City Marathon, the entire city belonged to a tiny 60-year-old Jewish man from Romania bouncing around the start line on the Verrazano Bridge in Staten Island wearing a neon yellow cap, a long-sleeved white shirt with a multi-colored screen print of the ‘92 NYC Marathon logo, and royal blue running tights underneath matching blue shorts.
Born in Romania under the name Fischel Lebowitz, he escaped the Holocaust during World War II, immigrated to New York, took on the name Fred Lebow, and founded the city’s marathon in 1970. Of the 127 runners who took part in that first race, Lebow was one of only 55 who finished the 26.2-mile circuit in Central Park. By 1992, the race had grown exponentially thanks in large part to Lebow’s two-decade run as marathon director, but as he also found himself two years into a four year battle with brain cancer that would ultimately claim his life, there were doubts if Lebow could still finish.
Joining him on the Verrazano Bridge that morning were thousands of fellow participants whose clothing and footwear created a sea of fluorescent yellows, blues, and pinks. The vibrant color palette in running design of the time may have arisen out of the functional need for high-visibility when running on urban streets during twilight hours, but in doing so it created an alternate design universe within athletic apparel. Whereas in the past, sportswear had come out of team sports in which traditional colors were used to diminish individuality and create a collective team identity, the neon colors of the early ‘90s running created an entirely new aesthetic lineage that valued bright self-expression.
The 26.2-mile course that stretched out in front of them was lined with fans from every neighborhood in one of the most diverse cities in the world –– from the Puerto Rican and Hasidic Jewish communities of Williamsburg to Spike Lee watching from the corner of Lafayette and Cumberland in Fort Greene. It’s an event for the entire city, with no barriers to entry. It simply takes place on the street, in front of stoops, outside bodegas, in rich neighborhoods and poor neighborhoods, all at the same time. You don’t even need to be a runner to be a part of it, you just need to be in New York.
When Lebow finally crossed the finish line in Central Park with a time of 5:32.34, the two men holding the tape were Willie Mtolo, a world champion distance runner from South Africa who had won the marathon several hours prior, and New York City Mayor David Dinkins, clad in a red New York Giants cap and brightly colored tracksuit.
