Fred Abramowitz ran the 1976 New York City Marathon, 50 years later his son runs it with him

When he was younger, Fred was a speed skater. One day, on a track in 1976, he was in the middle of a 5-mile run when a football coach came up to him and handed him an entry to the NYCM, which was 3 weeks away. Having never run in his life, Fred trained (including a 16 mile run 3 days before) and finished the marathon. He remembers Bill Rodgers telling him they were afraid the Verrazzano Bridge was going to collapse, stepping into The Bronx for 30 seconds, and his friend biking next to him through Central Park to the finish.

After the race, he threw his shoes in the trash and told his girlfriend he was never running again. Just days later, he felt the itch again, and started to run regularly in the shoes his girlfriend fished from the trash. Since then he has run 17 New York City Marathons, and became an ultra runner including 100-milers and the one he founded, Run-Rabbit-Run, the premier ultra marathon in the country.

This year, he will be running his first TCS New York City Marathon with his 18 year old son, introducing him to the ""greatest marathon in the world."

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