How was the New York Marathon conceived and why did it give the Big Apple its happiest and most unifying day in history? 'year ? Fred Lebow was a showman. He loved action. He liked the attention. Born FishlLebowtiz on June 6, 1932 in Transylvania, Romania, he accomplished something beyond belief. He is the father of the greatest running race in the world, the New York Marathon. Lebow transformed the marathon from a small race with 55 participants in 1970 to one of the largest marathons in the world with more than 30,000 participants today. Lebow proved to the world that ordinary people can run a marathon. Lebow survived the Holocaust after the German army arrived at the end of the war in his town in Transylvania, near the Hungarian border. Lebow emigrated to America, studied at Yeshiva Torah in Brooklyn, and opened an improv theater in Cleveland. Upon his return to the Big Apple, Lebow organized the first New York City Marathon in 1970. His “Jewishness” definitely contributed to his lifelong goal of “inclusivity.” Long before he became the master promoter, the only sport Lebow played was tennis. Most of the tennis matches were against his roommate, Brian Crawford. Having never been able to win a match against him, Lebow joined a health club. Getting bored of lifting weights, Lebow was told he should start jogging and recommended to go around the 1.577-mile oval track at CentralPark Reservoir. Passionate about running, he has become accustomed to running distances around the reservoir. With an "Whatever I want, I get" attitude, Lebow ran the Cherry Tree Marathon, which is also considered the mother of the New York City Marathon. The race started at the Yankee... middle of paper ... reality turned his idea into a world-class event. Even the Pope congratulated him on this wonderful event and gave him some shirts. As the founding father of the New York City Marathon, Lebow contributed to the marathon with everything he had. Whether it was surviving the Holocaust or smuggling diamonds into Holland, Lebow knew there was something great in him and he always wanted to share his ideas with the people. Never taking no for an answer and always striving for more has made Lebowone one of the world's biggest icons. He was inducted into the Runners Hall of Fame and his statue checking his watch as runners cross the finish line in Central Park tells us that nothing is impossible and that we should always strive and climb to achieve more. What Lebow accomplished was beyond belief and will always be remembered..