Even after he survived Nazi occupation and World Battle II in Romania, Fred Lebow, a Jewish immigrant, saved operating.
And operating. And operating.
It was Lebow’s ardour for operating that led him to take over New York Highway Runners within the Nineteen Seventies and rework the signature New York Metropolis Marathon into one of many greatest occasions on this planet.
It was that very same ardour that led him to run his final marathon in 1992 at age 60 whereas in remission from the mind most cancers that might finish his life two years later.
“He wasn’t a very good runner, however he liked operating,” mentioned Sarah Katz, 86, Lebow’s sister, and the final survivor of Lebow’s 5 siblings.
“No one thought he might do it. He was simply in remission from most cancers. He made it. My entire household was there. My entire household was crying.”
Runners count on a couple of tears to be shed on the New York Highway Runners Fred Lebow Half Marathon on Jan. 22 in Central Park that’s held in Lebow’s honor.
The race will weave via the park simply days earlier than Holocaust Remembrance Day on Jan. 27, and there’s no one whose legacy can deliver the 2 occasions collectively like Lebow.
Born Fischel Lebowitz to a big Orthodox household, Lebow grew up in Arad, Romania, in the course of the Nazi occupation.
He and one among his brothers fled in the course of the Russian communist takeover, and was separated from the remainder of his household, together with his sister Sarah, for 15 years.
After stopovers in Europe, Lebow made his strategy to the U.S., the place he ran a nightclub in Cleveland earlier than shifting to New York and dealing within the Garment District.
Alongside the best way he modified his title to Fred Lebow, though his sister nonetheless referred to as him Fischel.
“He liked Lebow, it sounded very French,” Katz mentioned. “He was a really humble man. Very candy He was a beautiful brother. I miss him tremendously. He was an incredible brother and a beautiful son to our mother and father.”
Regardless of operating NYRR for 20 years and remodeling the marathon to international standing, the very last thing he would have wished is a race in his honor, Katz mentioned.
“Individuals thought he wanted energy,” Katz mentioned.
“The one purpose he wanted energy was to do the marathon.”
Lebow was truly an avid tennis participant earlier than he obtained hooked on operating.
In the future, a good friend challenged him to a 1.6-mile run across the Central Park reservoir and he rapidly turned consumed with the game. Lebow went on to affix the New York Highway Runners, a corporation he would finally oversee for twenty years.
Paradoxically, Lebow, a marathon runner, by no means truly ran within the race he was finest recognized for till the marathon he ran whereas in remission. With all the main points he needed to are likely to, he simply by no means had the time.
“He all the time wished to run in his personal marathon,” Katz mentioned. “It was a really emotional time.”
Not lengthy after that race, Lebow was inducted into the Nationwide Observe Corridor of Fame in a particular ceremony, three months earlier than different inductees have been honored, due to his failing well being.
“I’m flattered and honored, and I don’t deserve it,” he mentioned in a whisper on the ceremony in Central Park. “I’m only a peon. I’m awed and embarrassed.”
Lebow wasn’t completely satisfied until all people was operating, and that included his sister.
So, one 12 months Katz signed up for the Fifth Avenue Mile, one other occasion sponsored by Lebow’s group.
“I walked. It took me 10 minutes,” Katz mentioned. “He was very completely satisfied “