GaryMrMets
10-29-2005, 05:44 PM
NYC Marathon race director juggles it all
By ANDREA ADELSON
.c The Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) - She rowed with men and ran with them, too.
Now that Mary Wittenberg is a pioneer once again, she shrugs her shoulders. That was easy compared to what she wants to do next.
Wittenberg is set to make her debut as race director for the New York City Marathon on Nov. 6, the only woman to hold such a title among the five major world marathons. To Wittenberg, that bit of trivia has little meaning.
She wants to help revolutionize the sport, regardless of her gender.
``As a credit to so many women who have come before me in the sport, it's not a big a deal because of my gender,'' she said. ``There's a reality in that there's just not that many spots. There are those five major races and they are all jobs people have had for a long time. It's not like the opportunity comes up all the time.''
No, but Wittenberg was good enough - and brave enough - to seize the chance. Wittenberg is embarking on an ambitious plan to not only make long-distance running more marketable and popular, but to get more children and adults into the sport.
She already has done her share. In 2002, the NYC Marathon became the first major U.S. marathon to start the women 30 minutes before the men, at her insistence. And this year, the NYC Marathon becomes the only major marathon to offer a bigger first-place purse to the women. The champion will earn $130,000, while the men's prize will stay at $100,000.
Wittenberg left a career as a corporate lawyer to join the New York Road Runners in 1998. The oldest of seven children, the 43-year-old Wittenberg is a hardworking perfectionist with boundless energy.
That she juggles her busy schedule while raising two young boys is hardly surprising. She wants people to love the sport as much as she does.
``She's got a love for distance running, a love for the marathon, a love for athletes,'' said Carey Pinkowski, executive race director for the Chicago Marathon. ``It's not a job for her. It's a passion. When you have someone in that position with a passion for what they do, it can profoundly affect a lot of things.''
Wittenberg hopes a recent renaissance among people taking up running translates into more focus on professional long-distance racing.
Participation in the NYC Marathon has increased 10 percent each year for the last three years. More fans are lining the route, and the excitement on race day is unmatched. But once the race ends, the sport fades from view.
Wittenberg has become the driving force behind a plan to bridge that disconnect. The race directors from New York, London, Boston, Berlin and Chicago will start sharing ideas on how to improve race-day operations, technology to better serve fans and participants, and marketing and promoting top athletes and the sport.
The group also will focus on building a competition package modeled on the successful Grand Slams in professional golf and tennis. Though there is no timetable for creation of such a plan, Wittenberg hopes it will be in place within five years.
``There's definitely momentum. I was one more voice to come in at the right time to say let's do this together,'' she said. ``We've had several years of building to putting ourselves back in the ranks of the best in the world. We're in a moment where we can look beyond ourselves.''
Pinkowski credited Wittenberg with getting races to work together. He pointed to last year, when the Chicago and New York City marathons offered incentives in the Athens Olympics. They pledged $500,000 to an American male or female marathon winner. Though no American won, Deena Kastor took bronze and Meb Keflezighi got silver to pace strong performances for the United States.
``There has always been a distance between our organizations,'' Pinkowski said. ``That's changed dramatically in the last couple of years. We all realized we have the same challenges, we have the same issues. Since we've started talking about those issues, we've become stronger as events.''
Wittenberg has experience as a trailblazer. She was the coxswain on the men's team at Canisius as an undergraduate, and ran with the men's cross country team at Notre Dame from 1984-87 while attending law school. Wittenberg finished the 1985 Chicago Marathon in 2 hours, 46 minutes.
She won the 1987 Marine Corps Marathon and qualified for the U.S. Olympic trials in 1988. But knee and back injuries forced her to quit at the second mile. She was just starting her law career, so she decided to concentrate on her new job.
``I always get into what I do, it's a strength and weakness, and I was a young associate at a big firm so I started working a lot,'' she said. ``I would still run but I never focused on it. I think it's part of why I'm so passionate about American distance running and providing development opportunities.''
After 11 years at her law firm, she decided she needed a change. Allan Steinfeld, vice chairman of the New York Road Runners and race director at the time, was impressed with her passion and background.
``She's got a lot of drive, which is important, and is willing to see things through to the end,'' Steinfeld said. ``She's got very high standards.''
Wittenberg has other ideas she wants to implement. One of them is to hand out baseball cards at local retailers featuring marathon runners entered in New York. If the person featured on your card wins, you get a prize.
Though her agenda is full, Wittenberg still manages to go for a run at 6 a.m. each day, then rushes home at night to spend time with her sons before they go to sleep. She may always be on the run, but that's the way Wittenberg wants it.
``Running was only something fun to do,'' she said. ``I didn't expect it to be the rest of my life.''
10/28/05 11:37 EDT
Copyright 2003 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
By ANDREA ADELSON
.c The Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) - She rowed with men and ran with them, too.
Now that Mary Wittenberg is a pioneer once again, she shrugs her shoulders. That was easy compared to what she wants to do next.
Wittenberg is set to make her debut as race director for the New York City Marathon on Nov. 6, the only woman to hold such a title among the five major world marathons. To Wittenberg, that bit of trivia has little meaning.
She wants to help revolutionize the sport, regardless of her gender.
``As a credit to so many women who have come before me in the sport, it's not a big a deal because of my gender,'' she said. ``There's a reality in that there's just not that many spots. There are those five major races and they are all jobs people have had for a long time. It's not like the opportunity comes up all the time.''
No, but Wittenberg was good enough - and brave enough - to seize the chance. Wittenberg is embarking on an ambitious plan to not only make long-distance running more marketable and popular, but to get more children and adults into the sport.
She already has done her share. In 2002, the NYC Marathon became the first major U.S. marathon to start the women 30 minutes before the men, at her insistence. And this year, the NYC Marathon becomes the only major marathon to offer a bigger first-place purse to the women. The champion will earn $130,000, while the men's prize will stay at $100,000.
Wittenberg left a career as a corporate lawyer to join the New York Road Runners in 1998. The oldest of seven children, the 43-year-old Wittenberg is a hardworking perfectionist with boundless energy.
That she juggles her busy schedule while raising two young boys is hardly surprising. She wants people to love the sport as much as she does.
``She's got a love for distance running, a love for the marathon, a love for athletes,'' said Carey Pinkowski, executive race director for the Chicago Marathon. ``It's not a job for her. It's a passion. When you have someone in that position with a passion for what they do, it can profoundly affect a lot of things.''
Wittenberg hopes a recent renaissance among people taking up running translates into more focus on professional long-distance racing.
Participation in the NYC Marathon has increased 10 percent each year for the last three years. More fans are lining the route, and the excitement on race day is unmatched. But once the race ends, the sport fades from view.
Wittenberg has become the driving force behind a plan to bridge that disconnect. The race directors from New York, London, Boston, Berlin and Chicago will start sharing ideas on how to improve race-day operations, technology to better serve fans and participants, and marketing and promoting top athletes and the sport.
The group also will focus on building a competition package modeled on the successful Grand Slams in professional golf and tennis. Though there is no timetable for creation of such a plan, Wittenberg hopes it will be in place within five years.
``There's definitely momentum. I was one more voice to come in at the right time to say let's do this together,'' she said. ``We've had several years of building to putting ourselves back in the ranks of the best in the world. We're in a moment where we can look beyond ourselves.''
Pinkowski credited Wittenberg with getting races to work together. He pointed to last year, when the Chicago and New York City marathons offered incentives in the Athens Olympics. They pledged $500,000 to an American male or female marathon winner. Though no American won, Deena Kastor took bronze and Meb Keflezighi got silver to pace strong performances for the United States.
``There has always been a distance between our organizations,'' Pinkowski said. ``That's changed dramatically in the last couple of years. We all realized we have the same challenges, we have the same issues. Since we've started talking about those issues, we've become stronger as events.''
Wittenberg has experience as a trailblazer. She was the coxswain on the men's team at Canisius as an undergraduate, and ran with the men's cross country team at Notre Dame from 1984-87 while attending law school. Wittenberg finished the 1985 Chicago Marathon in 2 hours, 46 minutes.
She won the 1987 Marine Corps Marathon and qualified for the U.S. Olympic trials in 1988. But knee and back injuries forced her to quit at the second mile. She was just starting her law career, so she decided to concentrate on her new job.
``I always get into what I do, it's a strength and weakness, and I was a young associate at a big firm so I started working a lot,'' she said. ``I would still run but I never focused on it. I think it's part of why I'm so passionate about American distance running and providing development opportunities.''
After 11 years at her law firm, she decided she needed a change. Allan Steinfeld, vice chairman of the New York Road Runners and race director at the time, was impressed with her passion and background.
``She's got a lot of drive, which is important, and is willing to see things through to the end,'' Steinfeld said. ``She's got very high standards.''
Wittenberg has other ideas she wants to implement. One of them is to hand out baseball cards at local retailers featuring marathon runners entered in New York. If the person featured on your card wins, you get a prize.
Though her agenda is full, Wittenberg still manages to go for a run at 6 a.m. each day, then rushes home at night to spend time with her sons before they go to sleep. She may always be on the run, but that's the way Wittenberg wants it.
``Running was only something fun to do,'' she said. ``I didn't expect it to be the rest of my life.''
10/28/05 11:37 EDT
Copyright 2003 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.