Larry Trachtenberg ran the first-ever New York City Marathon in 1970. The inaugural event was confined to Central Park and featured only 55 runners. The entry fee was $1 and the budget for the entire event was $1,000. Trachtenberg, who was a teenager at the time, saw a small blurb in the New York Times promoting the marathon and gave it a go.
Trachtenberg, now a resident of Oregon, is returning to run the 50th NYC Marathon. The marathon now sees north of 50,000 runners per year and 1.2-million people have finished this iconic race. If the math seems a little fuzzy, 2021 is the 50th marathon because the event was canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to an article from ABC 7, a smattering of runners from the first event will be on hand for the 50-year celebration, but Larry will be the only one running.
Images From: TCS New York City Marathon Facebook Page