The following article came to us from Gary Corbitt and is reprinted here with his kind permission.
Secondly we have included a recent press release from NYC Parks announcing the naming of a
six mile loop in Central Park after Ted Corbitt. ed.
New York Road Runners (NYRR) History Project- Gary Corbitt
The piece below was written by New York Road Runners (NYRR) about the African American Running History Timeline (1880 – 1979) that I issued in 2017.
Over the next year Pam Cooper Chenkin – author of The American Marathon and I will be working with NYRR to document the following:
*The role of the New York Pioneer Club (NYPC) an integrated team during Jim Crow era played in starting NYRR. The NYPC was formed in 1936 in Harlem by three Black gentlemen.
*How many of the innovations in the sport of long distance running were started in the 1960s by NYRR members.
*The names of first generation (1958 – 1970) NYRR leaders who set a foundation for the success road running enjoys today.
Gary Corbitt
Curator: Ted Corbitt Archives
Historian: National Black Marathoners Association (NBMA)
A Timeline of Black American Distance Running History
FEB 05, 2021 – New York Road Runners (NYRR)
When runners learn about Ted Corbitt, NYRR’s founding president, many assume that he was
the first Black American distance runner of historical significance. Corbitt (1919-2007) was a
towering figure in distance running, but he was far from the first—or the only—African
American distance runner of note. Black running history in America dates back to at least
the 1870s and is both rich and deep.
Gary Corbitt, Ted’s son, has spent years researching and writing about Black American running
and bringing many untold stories to life. He established the Ted Corbitt Archives to preserve
and highlight some of the amazing and near-forgotten stories of Black American runners,
coaches, clubs, teams, events, supporters, and administrators.
“My father always told me that he wasn’t alone—that there were other great Black American
distance runners,” said Gary, pictured below. “I didn’t know just how rich the history was until I
started to look into it myself.”
Drawing from books, articles, and a huge volume of primary documents, Gary has created a
“The work is ongoing,” he said. “I’ve probably captured about 75 percent of what’s known from
that 100-year period.”
He’s inspired by a story his father told him of a letter he received from a young Black runner.
“The runner wrote that he wished he’d known about my father when he was in school and
coaches steered him away from distance running and toward the sprints,” said Gary. “If he’d
had a Black distance runner like my father as a role model, things might have been different. I
want today’s young Black runners to know they are part of a rich history and have many role
models.”
Gary added that when he started his research, "I was both shocked and saddened to see how
Black long distance running history had been ignored. This void in running history preservation
motivates me to work at building a team of running history scholars to ensure this subject is
never ignored again."
Here are just a few of the many highlights from the timeline; for more, visit tedcorbitt.com.
Frank Hart and the Pedestrian Movement
In the late 1870s, the most popular sport in the U.S. was pedestrianism—multi-day running
and walking events of hundreds of miles, often conducted around indoor tracks in front of huge
crowds. Competitors were of all races and backgrounds, and one of the most successful was a
young Black runner named Frank Hart (above, left). Born Fred Hichborn in Haiti in 1858, he
moved to Boston in his teens, worked as a grocer, and began running distance races to make
extra money, changing his name when he became a professional “ped.”
Hart won the prestigious O’Leary Belt six-day race in Madison Square Garden in 1880,
completing an astonishing 565 miles, a world record. The second-place finisher, William
Pegram, was also Black. Hart’s success brought him fame and fortune; his image was on
trading cards (the precursor to baseball cards) nationwide and he probably earned over
$100,000 in his lifetime, thanks to the legal gambling that was central to the sport and even
allowed competitors to bet on themselves!
Unfortunately, Hart also endured racism, including heckling and physical harassment from
spectators and snubs and racial slurs from his rivals. By the late 1880s, baseball—with rigid
segregationist policies—supplanted pedestrianism in popularity. An outstanding all-round
athlete, Hart joined a Negro league team for several years.
The spirit of the pedestrian era inspired Ted Corbitt, who ran (and won) many ultra races and
completed an incredible 68.9 miles in 24 hours at age 82. "My father would talk about running
600 miles in six days and walking 100 miles in 24 hours," said Gary. "These were pedestrian-era
milestones that I didn’t fully understand the significance of until much later, after his passing."
Early NYC Running Clubs and Marathoners
Several Black running clubs in NYC in the early 1900s, including the Salem Crescent Athletic
Club, St. Christopher’s Club of NY, Smart Set Athletic Club of Brooklyn, showcased the talents
of a generation of Black runners at distances from the sprints to the marathon.
In 1919, Aaron Morris of the St. Christopher Athletic Club finished sixth in the Boston Marathon
in 2:37:13 becoming the first known African American to run the race. In the 1920 Boston
Marathon,
Morris’s teammate Cliff Mitchell finished eighth in 2:41:43. Mitchell finished 13th in Boston in
1921, and another St. Christopher runner, John Goff, finished ninth in 2:37:35 that year.
The New York Pioneer Club and Coach Joe Yancey
The New York Pioneer Club, founded in 1936 in Harlem by coach Joe Yancey and two other
Black men, was committed to providing opportunity to anyone interested and qualified, regardless
of race. “It was an integrated running team that predated the integration of pro sports,” said
Gary Corbitt. Ted Corbitt joined the Pioneer Club in 1947, and in 1958 he and other members
were the founding core New York Road Runners. Stay tuned for a longer article about the NYPC
next week.
Marilyn Bevans and other African American Woman Marathoners
Opportunities for women distance runners were few and far between before the early 1970s.
NYRR always allowed women as members and in its events, but the Boston Marathon barred
women until 1972, the same year a women’s 1500m (less than a mile) was added to the
Olympics.
In the 1970s, Marilyn Bevans of Baltimore came on the scene as the first competitive Black
American woman marathoner in the modern era. Bevans was the first Black American woman
American woman marathoner in the modern era. Bevans was the first Black American woman
to win a marathon—the Washington Birthday Marathon in Maryland in 1975. She placed fourth
in the 1975 Boston Marathon in a time of 2:55:52, becoming the first sub-three-hour Black
American woman marathoner. She ran a total of 13 sub-3:00 marathons. Stay tuned for more
on Bevans (who went on to become a coach and is now in her 70s) and other Black American
women marathoners in a future article.
IN CELEBRATION OF BLACK HISTORY MONTH NYC PARKS NAMES
6-MILE CENTRAL PARK LOOP FOR STORIED BLACK OLYMPIAN RUNNER
First Black American Olympian and training pioneer Theodore ‘Ted’ Corbitt honored in Central
Park--Ted Corbitt Loop
Next phase of park namings to include public suggestions--Parks encourages New Yorkers to
submit names in honor of prominent Black Americans
NYC Parks Commissioner Mitchell J. Silver, FAICP, last week joined New York City Council
Member Peter Koo, Central Park Conservancy President Elizabeth W. Smith, New York
Road Runners Chairman George Hirsch and Vice President of Events Ted Metellus,
USATF Road Running Technical Council Chairperson David Katz, friends of the Corbitt
Family, and running groups and runners from across the city to celebrate the naming of
the Central Park loop in honor of the first African American Olympian Ted Corbitt, who
was a pioneer in long distance running and ran in the first New York City Marathon
wearing the “No. 1” bib. To commemorate the naming, Parks will install six scenic
landmark street signs donning ‘Ted Corbitt Loop’ along the 6-mile route, and a Parks
branded routed sign at the base of Harlem Hill at 110th St. and Adam Clayton Powell
Blvd. in Harlem.
“As an avid runner, I am incredibly proud to commemorate the contributions of a man
that inspired me and countless others to push through boundaries and live more
abundantly,” said Commissioner Silver. “It is an honor to celebrate Black History
Month this year by shining light on Ted Corbitt’s influence and advocacy for
underrepresented groups in running and beyond. May his legacy and pioneering spirit
live on to inspire the next generation of runners to strive for greatness, progress, and peace.”
“My father and other men and women volunteers worked tireless hours to help invent
the modern day sport of long distance running,” said Corbitt’s son Gary Corbitt.
“Many of the innovations in the sport were started in New York during the 1960s and
early 1970s. This naming tribute celebrates all these pioneers.”
“This is a fitting honor for Ted, who made a home for runners in Central Park,” said
Elizabeth W. Smith, President & CEO of Central Park Conservancy. “He saw in
the Park, the promise for running to build a community as diverse as the City itself.”
“Among his many contributions, Ted Corbitt was our trusted and dedicated leader.
I became a runner back in the late 1960’s when there were not many of us runners.
We were an offbeat group and Ted Corbitt was our leader. Not because he wanted to
be or ever sought attention, but because of his passion to make a positive impact, as
well as being a champion, Olympian, and a student of the sport. We always looked
to Ted to see what he was he doing. And then, we did it as well,” said George Hirsch,
Chairman of the Board, NYRR.
“Today is a fitting tribute and we are proud to be part of NYC Parks, Central Park
Conservancy, and the City of New York’s recognition of pioneering force Ted Corbitt.
As an African American man, and alongside an African American NYC Parks
Commissioner, this recognition is monumental,” said Ted Metellus, Vice President of
Events, NYRR. “Ted’s lasting legacy continues to inspire and impact generations every
day, every runner, and every single step taken in this park.”
“In 2006, my grandson Christopher, who was a three-year-old toddler at the time, ran
in a NY Road Runners’ youth marathon here in Central Park. I was so proud of him as
he focused his little self and ran in earnest. He was so adorable. Little did I know that
we were standing on the phenomenally broad shoulders of Mr. Ted Corbitt, the ‘father
of long distance running’,” said Community Board 10 Parks Committee Chair Karen
Horry. “On behalf of Manhattan Community Board 10, I would like to extend sincere
gratitude and congratulations to the Corbitt family, the New York Road Runners and
marathon runners around the world on this auspicious occasion, as NYC Parks, under
the leadership of Commissioner Silver, commemorates the longest loop in Central Park
to the astounding legacy of Ted Corbitt.”
Born in South Carolina, Theodore ‘Ted’ Corbitt was an ultramarathon pioneer, author,
and physiotherapist. Throughout his illustrious 50-year career, he ran 199 marathons
and ultramarathons’, which are typically races of 50 or 100 miles or 24 hours. In 1952,
Corbitt became the first Black American to represent the United States at the Olympic
Marathon which was held in Helsinki, Finland. He was the founding President of New
York Road Runners, a member of the inaugural class of inductees into the National
Distance Running Hall of Fame in Utica, and a pioneer of race course measurement.
Corbitt is noted to have run up to 312.5 miles a week and is widely credited as a
source of inspiration to runners around the world.
Corbitt will join Mayor John Lindsay, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux who
have roads in Central Park named for them. Most recently, the lower loop was named
John V. Lindsay Dr. in 2013, and the 72nd Street Cross Drive, that runs past Bethesda
Terrace, was named Olmsted Vaux Way in 2008. Ted Corbitt Loop encompasses the
6 miles he and runners world-wide have run for more than a century.
NYC Parks is committed to supporting the fight to end systematic racism locally, nationally,
and throughout the world. In June 2020, the agency declared solidarity with the Black
community when it created Juneteenth Grove in Brooklyn’s Cadman Plaza Park. In
addition, on Black Solidarity Day 2020, Parks also announced the first tranche of
namings for prominent Black Americans in an effort to foster effective and equitable
changes within the City’s parks system. In preparation for the second phase of
namings, New Yorkers now have an opportunity to submit name recommendations
to further highlight the Black experience in New York City. For more details and to
submit suggestions, please visit our website. Parks will accept suggestions for the
next two weeks. Those interested in submitting names of other protected class peoples
can do so as well--for later consideration.
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