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ING NEW YORK CITY MARATHON

October 30, 2008

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK

RICHARD FINN: Thank you for staying with us, and thank you for joining us for this special announcement, news conference. As you know, this entire week we've been counting down the moments, the top five moments in New York Roadrunner history. We're at No. 2, and we have some special guests with us to help us celebrate that and also one other announcement. I'll introduce New York Roadrunner president and CEO Mary Wittenberg.
MARY WITTENBERG: We'd like to thank and welcome to share with us this morning introduce president and CEO and race director from 1994 to 2005 Allan Steinfeld; our greatest ever champion, Grete Waitz; and our chairman of the board and well-known as longtime inspiration and publisher of Runner's World, George Hirsch.
Of all the moments in New York Roadrunner history, the favorite moment of our team and our staff and New York Roadrunners is the moment that we're going to share today. It is a moment that I think is vitally important to take yourselves back to what life was like in 1992 and what the world was like in terms of how much people talked about cancer, how much people shared cancer, and to take yourself back to the incredible persona and the level of visibility of first-ever race director and visionary of the New York City Marathon.
The No. 2 moment as voted by the fans. Let's remember.
(Video shown.)
MARY WITTENBERG: George, take us back to the day.
GEORGE HIRSCH: Well, when I see it, like you, Mary, it does get to me because this is a story of two very dear friends of mine. And when I saw the documentary movie that was made about Fred that some of you have seen and all of you should see, because it's just wonderful, that was the point in the movie, Fred and Grete running, that I was just choked up, because it brought it all back to me.
The incredible story of Fred coming to New York, this perfect New York American story of a guy with just drive and his own wits and his promotional skill and his charisma and his charm, how he was able to build this, one of the extraordinary events in the world today and then Fred's great relationship with Grete and the whole story of how Grete came to New York as this very extraordinary track runner who had never run a marathon. I'll let you tell that if you want. And then what friends they became, and they became really the two iconic figures of the New York City Marathon.
Of course, when I look at it, I also think that two years later, Fred was not with us. I mean, that's where he was at that time in terms of his own health and his cancer that he fought, and he fought it with such courage. Many of you like Allan who spent so much time with him as he walked the laps in the hospital, he just never gave in. And there was just something extraordinary about it.
And then two years later in 1994, that marathon -- because Fred had died six weeks before -- four weeks before, I mean, a matter of weeks, and then the entire marathon in '94, which is the last time I've run New York was '94, just became this extraordinary human, moving tribute to Fred.
It's very hard for me to watch this. I'm sure it is for Grete.
MARY WITTENBERG: Thank you, George. I think all of us, or many of us, see it as a story of two people, and when I think of Fred, I also think of Fred in a twosome. I think of Fred and Grete and I think of Fred and Allan. Allan, take us back to where you were in 1992 and what you remember of that day.
ALLAN STEINFELD: I remember it like it was yesterday, even though it's, what, 16 years ago. You've all heard in the United States of a Teacher For a Day. I had the wonderful opportunity, if you can call it that, to be race director for a day, because since Fred was running, he couldn't be in the lead vehicle; he couldn't control the race. And you may have heard of Lou Rudin, hopefully you have, and the saying that I fully subscribe to that he had, no good deed goes unpunished.
In the '92 race, that was the case. We tried to be nice to be fast foreign runners and American runners who were not the elitist, so we brought them forward after everyone else was assembled to the starting line. And I guess because they didn't speak English, they got to the starting line, and a bunch of us tried to hold them back, and they started to creep a little.
The police, seeing them creep, because we had a false start years ago, began to move it a little. They saw the police moving, they moved a bit. The elite athletes were waiting on the sideline, and all of a sudden they just took off, and I ran like hell into the lead vehicle. All the vehicles were passed, the elite athletes jumped into the race, and Fred is calling me on a walkie-talkie because we didn't have cell phones then, "What happened, Allan? What happened, Allan?" I said, "We had a false start." And I just shut up for a second. He said, "You've got to do something." I said, "Nothing you can do. Just run your race and enjoy it."
He kept calling and calling as Grete will tell you because he was so distraught for probably a few miles. Fred and I discussed his running the event beforehand, and a lot of people felt he couldn't do it, but knowing Fred as I did, I knew that he'd crawl to the finish if he had to.
What he wanted out of the race in the end, because in case you don't know it, he had never run the Five Borough Race. He had run in Central Park but never the five boroughs. He wanted to be treated like everyone else. He wanted to get a blanket wrapped around him, he wanted to get a medal, and he wanted to kiss the ground.
You didn't see it in the picture, but a medal was put around by his friend Jack Rudin; blankets were put around him, I did that; and he bent down to kiss the ground and he couldn't get up. So we were all busy picking him up.
Another first happening that year, which you may not remember, is Apartheid was lifted in South Africa, and Willie Mtolo came to this race to run the race, and he won. The press conference was going on, and just in case you don't remember, the television broadcaster broke into the race to see Fred, and when the race was over, they broke into a football game every 15 minutes because the rest of the country and the world was watching Fred and Grete's progress.
And when he finished Willie Mtolo came out and said, can I hold the tape. I said, of course. So Willie was holding the tape. When it was all over and we were at the press conference, Fred said, "What happened, Allan? What happened, Allan?" I said, "I screwed up," and we just couldn't believe that. We tried to do something good, and we couldn't.
But the end result is Fred lived his dream, which is most important.
I remember also, as I mentioned to George, when that was over and Fred kept doing whatever he did, and just getting a call on October 9th when I was out of the house, and I knew right away that Fred had passed. And we held a wonderful memorial in Central Park that the mayor, Grete and myself were at. And people from all walks of life and presidents and CEOs of companies came out to pay respect to this wonderful man.
MARY WITTENBERG: Grete?
GRETE WAITZ: Well, of all the races that I've run in New York, there are two races that stand out, and that's my first one 30 years ago and the race with Fred. From the day he told me that he wanted to run the New York City Marathon, I was worried, because I knew he was sick and he was getting treatments, but he was very determined that he should run the New York City Marathon.
That was when I told him that if you're going to run, I'm going to do it with you, and we stayed in touch since the spring of '92, and I was sort of keeping track on his running.
Like most first-time marathon runners, I thought he was doing too much, and I was kind of concerned. Every time I was in New York, we went for a little run in Central Park, and when we got closer to the race, he told me how many miles he had run, and he was like running a half marathon, and then he did another five afterwards. So I said, Fred, you have to make sure you get enough rest, and I don't want you hurt being at the starting line.
The week of the marathon, he was more a race director than a runner. Every time I turned on the TV, I saw Fred. He was on all the TV shows. I was down at the expo, he was moving barricades and he was signing his book. I said, Fred, you've got to put your feet up and rest. You're running the marathon in two days. But that was Fred. I mean, he wanted every part of the marathon.
On race day, as Allan told you, it was a false start. We were up at the podium where the cannon was, and he did not want to run because it was a false start. He felt that he needed to be in control of the race, and I literally had to pull off his jacket and sort of pushed him to the starting line. We were probably one of the last people starting the race running across the bridge.
For the first three miles he was not in the race at all. He was so concerned it was a false start, what he was going to do, "I have to talk to Allan," and he was getting -- asking for a walkie-talkie so he could get in touch with Allan. He talked to Allan a few times, and when he was reassured that everything was okay, was going to be okay, that was when he started his own marathon.
And then at that time we were -- we got started around the Brooklyn area. He over-strategized before the race that we should walk a couple minutes on every water station, but like most runners, Fred said early on, "It's too embarrassing to walk. We have to run, we have to run." But I kind of told him that you're going to walk for a couple minutes, and if you don't walk it's going to hit you later in the race.
He ran pretty good, kept a good pace, and we were on about the five-hour-plus pace. The first time I got very worried was when we came to Queensboro Bridge, 59th Street Bridge. He asked to stop in the middle of the bridge because there was no people there. He needed a rest where nobody could see him (laughter).
So he stretched a little bit, and his knee was bothering him as you saw on the clip here. He was running with some bandage around his knee. I told him, are you okay, do you think you can keep going. And he told me he was fine and he should make it.
We came off the bridge, started on 1st Avenue, and the crowds there were just fantastic. I have never been on the course like four hours into the race, so this was the first time I was on the course for more than five hours. It was a pretty lousy day for the spectators. It was kind of raining a little bit, mist and cool, but the people who were out on the course waiting for us was just -- I was in awe.
And there was support that we got. It was probably -- well, I always got a lot of support when I ran my races, but running with Fred was something that I haven't experienced earlier.
But then about five miles to go, he stopped again and he asked to sit down. That was when I thought that he's never going to make it. His knee was bothering him, and he was tired. I think we both would kill for a McDonald's at that time. We were both hungry. We shared a Power Bar, which I call survival food, and then we got something to drink, and we started to walk.
We started running, jogging, and then something happened to Fred when we entered Central Park and he was on home ground. We passed along the reservoir and we passed along where the club was, and people there, we were all friends, we were all familiar with them, they cheered us on. And at that time I was so touched by the support of the people, so I started to cry. Fred was like, "Oh, Grete, what's wrong? Are you hurting?" I said, "No, no, no, look at all these people. They have been here for hours waiting for us."
Then he kind of realized what he was on his way to achieve, and he realized that he was going to finish this marathon and all the people were there cheering him on. So he got tears in his eyes, and we both ran the two last miles crying.
It was a very emotional race. I'm so happy that I did it. I know that Fred really wanted me to win ten New York City Marathons. I only did nine (laughter). But I say that that race with Fred makes up for the tenth that I never won.
Today I'm so happy that I had the privilege of knowing Fred and being able to run the New York City Marathon with him. It's definitely the most emotional race I've ever run.
MARY WITTENBERG: We're going to steal this moment to further celebrate Grete, on occasion of the 30th anniversary since her first victory here, 20th anniversary since her ninth victory here. We plan our marathons a few years out, and we're always trying to figure out -- there are a few things we decide we want to do and then we figure out the right year to do it. For some time we've really wanted to celebrate Grete and we wanted to put Grete on the medal. So we took this occasion of the 30th and the 20th to honor Grete, and we really believe honor every single runner in this race on Sunday by giving each of those champions on Sunday, because each of those people that finish will be a champion in their own right, we're going to give them a medal with the image of Grete as our greatest champion ever of New York on the front. We have Grete on the front, and the back says, "Grete Waitz, the greatest champion in New York City Marathon history."
(Applause.)
MARY WITTENBERG: We have some favorite photos at New York Roadrunners, and it will be no surprise to you that Grete figures prominently in both and Fred figures prominently in one, and it's a photo that just speaks volumes. So we want you to have it forever together with the medal.
(Applause.)
MARY WITTENBERG: We also thank Grete, and we know Fred would love this. We still feel Fred in our building and often think, what would Fred think, and whenever we do something new, we think Fred would love it.
One of the things we've done in the last ten years is get kids running. We now have 50,000 kids running worldwide. Grete is the chairwoman of that foundation, and the focus of that program is getting kids running. Grete has been absolutely instrumental in our building that program in a smart, methodical way so that we could build a program that we could scale and be sure really works, and it was Grete's influence over many years and Grete's voice that made sure we were doing it right. And as we stand here today, we can say not that we've put up on a website how to run and kids are reading it, but we have a robust, very solid kids' running program that's enabling kids to run two, three more times a week in all these schools and serving some 50,000 kids, and next year it will be 100,000 kids.
Grete is part of our history but Grete is very much part of our present and going to be a big part of the future at New York Roadrunners history.
GRETE WAITZ: For me it is a privilege and what I consider an extra bonus for me being involved in the New York Roadrunners to work with the kids. This morning we had Run With the Champion, and to see the smile on these kids' faces and telling me about their running, it's really rewarding. It makes me very happy to see that we can make a difference in these young people's lives, and as you all know, an activity is the biggest help for it, not only here but in the country where I live, and to getting kids involved in physical activity and running, I'm really, really privileged that I can be a part of that.
I want to thank the New York Roadrunners for taking these kids to their hearts and teaching them about a healthy lifestyle. It's very important. Thank you, Mary.
RICHARD FINN: Grete, George and Allan will stay as long as you want, if there's any questions from the floor.
Thank you very much. Mary forgot to say that we had gone to Oslo earlier this year to salute Grete in her hometown.
MARY WITTENBERG: I also forgot to call up Grete's husband Jeff is here, but Grete's two brothers are running, and remind me which brother's wife.
GRETE WAITZ: My brother who is in the shirt there, he's running his 27th New York City Marathon on Sunday, and the rest of my family is coming in tomorrow. My older brother, his wife and my niece and my nephew, they're all running the marathon. It's going to be a great day for me and my family. We are very happy to be here to celebrate the 50th anniversary and my 30th anniversary. Thank you.

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