Jack Hirschowitz: Still Joggling After All These Years
From October 17 through November 1, more than 24,000 runners from over 125 countries around the world will be running the 2020 Virtual TCS New York City Marathon. All of them have incredible stories of getting to the starting line in this challenging year. We're inspired to share here the story of marathon "joggler" Jack Hirschowitz.
You can still register to run the Virtual TCS New York City Marathon! Whether you're running or supporting this spectacular virtual event, check out our info hub for tips, special offers, and more.
At age 75, Jack Hirschowitz is the oldest known marathon joggler. A joggler is the ultimate multitasker—someone who juggles while running and racing.
Joggling combines two of Jack’s favorite hobbies. “I was always a juggler of sorts,” he said. “About 30 years ago I became passionate about juggling and started attending the International Jugglers Association annual conventions. I was also a runner, and at one of my first conventions, in Las Vegas, I attended the Joggling World Championships and participated in a few races against other jugglers. After that, I was hooked.” Jack has continued to compete at the world championships for the past 20 years, where he's won "a bunch of medals," he said.
A native of South Africa, Jack has lived in New York City for 35 years. For the last 25 years he’s trained weekly with a group of jugglers at the Carmine Street Gym, and he goes on regular joggling runs to hone his fitness and skills.
In case you're wondering, joggling is not easy. “The hardest thing about joggling is learning to put the juggling into your peripheral vision since you need to focus on everything else," Jack said. He recently showed up in the Instagram feed of TV host and producer (and fellow Virtual TCS New York City Marathon participant) Nev Schulman while both were training in Central Park.
Jack is a familiar face at NYRR races—he’s completed 183 of them, including racing every New York City Marathon since 2008 (though in 2016 he just ran, and didn’t joggle). When the 2012 marathon was canceled in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, Jack joggled 26.2 miles anyway. “I did run the 2012 New York City Marathon in Central Park, wearing the orange official shirt, with hundreds of others,” he recalled.
This year, on Sunday, November 1, Jack will once again race the TCS New York City Marathon in Central Park. “If we count 2012, then this will be my 13th New York City Marathon in a row,” he said.
His devotion to joggling, and his success, has rubbed off on his family. His daughter, Chloe, has won gold medals at the Joggling World Championships, and his son, Barak, is also serious about the sport. "We have run several marathons joggling side by side," said Jack, including the 2019 TCS New York City Marathon, which they finished together, above. Barak raced the Virtual TCS New York City Marathon last weekend in Florida—incredibly, completing the 26.2 miles without dropping a ball!
Jack was in awe of his son’s feat. “I have run a couple of half marathons without dropping, but I usually drop a few times in a marathon," he said, "mostly towards the end.”
