It Was 50 Years Ago Today, the Marathon Came to New York to Stay

The marathon started at 11 a.m. It was hot and humid. Muhrcke and Corbitt started conservatively over the hilly course that included four full loops of Central Park. Moses Mayfield, a Philadelphia distance-running standout, jumped to an early lead, and still looked strong at 20 miles. Then, struck by a dizzy spell, he faded to eighth place . Muhrcke worked his way up through the field, and caught Mayfield at 24 miles.

“Moses looked like he was pushing a piano up a steep hill,” Muhrcke later recalled.

He cruised to victory, breaking the tape in 2 hours, 31 minutes, 39 seconds. A 19-year old New Jersey college student, Tom Fleming, finished second (2:35:44), and Corbitt ran 2:44 for fifth place. There was only one woman in the field, Nina Kuscsik. She had run 3:12 five months earlier at Boston, but she came down with the flu just before the New York City race and had to drop out at 14 miles.

The next day’s New York Times published a short article, with no photographs, on page 54.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/13/sports/new-york-city-marathon.html