NYRR Honors Jewish American Heritage Month

May is Jewish American Heritage Month, a time to discover, explore, and celebrate the vibrant and varied American Jewish experience from the dawn of our nation to the present day.

Jewish runners were among the founders of NYRR in 1958 and people of Jewish heritage have been a part of NYRR’s leadership throughout the organization’s history.

Jewish Founders and Early Members

Many founders and early members of NYRR were members of the New York Pioneer Club, which was founded in Harlem by three Black businessmen in the 1930s. The white members of NYPC, many of whom were Jewish, shared the Black members' concern with the racist attitudes and policies of the track and field governing bodies of the time and the discriminatory practices of some running clubs.

These concerns were part of broader criticisms shared by Jewish and Black people over discrimination in employment, education, and housing. New York City became the most important center of this alliance, which extended into athletics; both groups faced discrimination by the powerful New York Athletic Club.

In 1944 and 1946, the Pioneers became team champions in the Metropolitan AAU junior track and field games. Months before the1946 Metropolitan AAU championship, the New York Pioneer Club stated its refusal to attend the upcoming AAU national track and field championships in San Antonio, TX. They objected to the social segregation; Black athletes were not permitted to stay at the same hotels as white athletes. These and other details are included in the book The American Marathon by historian Pamela Cooper.

One of NYRR’s most active and prominent founding members was Joe Kleinerman, whose Jewish family left the Ukraine in the early 20th century and immigrated to the New York City area along with millions of others fleeing antisemitism and seeking economic opportunities. Kleinerman, later a vice president of NYRR and the longtime coach of Millrose AA, was a lifelong member of NYRR, passing away in 2003 at the age of 91.

Fred Lebow and Later Leaders

NYRR’s president and the race director of the New York City Marathon from 1972 until his death in 1994, Fred Lebow was born Fishel Liebowitz in 1932 in Romania and after surviving the Holocaust, immigrated to the U.S. as a yeshiva student. He was working in the garment business in the late 1960s when he took up running to improve his tennis game. He loved the sport so much that he made it his life's mission to spread running to as many people as possible.

Other Jewish leaders of NYRR include Allan Steinfeld, who succeeded Lebow in 1994 and led NYRR until his retirement in 2005, and Alice Schneider, who started at NYRR as a volunteer in the 1970s and became a pioneer in developing road race timing and scoring systems.

Dick Traum was the first known amputee runner to complete a marathon, a feat he accomplished at the 1976 New York City Marathon. He went on to become the founder of Achilles International and completed 11 marathons using a prosthesis and dozens more using a handcycle. For his achievements, he was inducted into the NYRR Hall of Fame and the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.

The Rudin Family

In 1976, brothers Lewis and Jack Rudin honored their late father, Samuel Rudin – an avid long distance runner and a member of the Pastime Athletic Club in the Bronx –­ by becoming a sponsor of the New York City Marathon. Ever since, the Rudin family has presented the winning athletes of the race with the Samuel Rudin Trophy. The Rudin family traces its roots to Belarus; in 1884, Louis and Rachel Rudinsky immigrated to the United States through Castle Clinton in Battery Park. 

Deena Kastor

One of America's most decorated distance runners, Deena Kastor, is Jewish. The former American half marathon and marathon record-holder, she won a bronze medal at the Athens 2004 Olympic marathon. She made her marathon debut at the 2001 New York City Marathon, setting an American debut record (2:26:58). She won the 2004 New York Mini 10K and the More/SHAPE Half Marathon in 2017, 2016, 2014, and 2013. She held 10 American records, represented the U.S. on 16 world championships teams, and has served as an NYRR Run for the Future Ambassador.