We Met After a Race

It was 9 A.M. on Thursday, June 8^th, 1989 and Fred Lebow had problems; about 13,000 to be accurate.  As race director for that evening's Manufacturers Hanover Corporate Challenge, Lebow was responsible for the safety of that many runners.  The temperature in Central Park was 83 degrees and the humidity was 80 percent, a combination the American College of Sports Medicine considers to be between ''high risk'' and ''very high risk'' for runners.  

The Corporate Challenge, an annual series of 3.5 mile races, was founded in 1977 by the New York Road Runners with a single race in New York City that attracted 200 runners from 50 companies.  It is now held in 13 cities, in 7 countries on 5 continents.  The Manhattan edition started and finished at The Tavern on the Green.  Little did I know I would be attending my wedding reception there in 18 months.

Take 13,000 competitive corporate types, many who had never run a race, add heat and humidity, and you have a recipe for – death.  In recent years four participants had died – two of heart attacks and two from heat stroke – not the outcomes you want for an event that promotes "fitness in the workplace."   I signed a release stating I wouldn’t hold SmithBarney (my employer) or the New York Road Runners responsible if I croaked. 

Lebow, citing concerns about the hazards of running in high heat and humidity, changed the event into a "non-competitive" ''fun run'' and removed the clock so the competitors would not be tempted to overexert themselves; a reasonable idea.  You can remove the clock, but two or more people running a course at the same time IS the definition of a race. 

Another idea was to implement a two-wave start.  Runners were asked to sort themselves into fast and slow waves.  I hadn’t run in over two years so I joined the mass of B-Wave runners. 

If they had asked a 3^rd grader how to slow down the runners, they might have said “put a rope across the road.”  If you were Lebow, you might have said “Great idea.”  And so, mid-way through the event, a couple of burly dudes ran a rope across the road – I kid you not.  By the time I got to that point in the run, there were a few thousand people piling on top of one another.  The rope served its purpose, but several people fell and were stepped upon. 

Participants had to be “sponsored” by a company in order to be eligible to race.  It was an honor to be asked to represent your company.  It may be difficult to imagine, but it was a different era of corporate pride and the Corporate Challenge was a big deal.  Executives of major Wall Street firms (some in their seventies) ran the race.  The Corporate Challenge was broadcast – on network television.  Olympians and World Boxing Champions announced that they were going to run the race.  Grete Waitz was the official starter for the 1990 edition. 

I have no idea how long it took me to run the course, but I can tell you I beat Jerry, a corporate bond trader, and Clark from the OTC trading desk.  Serious bragging rights were at stake. 

At an after-race party, at an Upper East Side watering hole with a very unfortunate name, I met a lovely long-legged runner from Deloitte & Touche.  She said her name was Mary.  I asked her where she was from.  “Colorado” she replied.  The rest is a story for another day.  

Mementos from the night we met: