George Aaron Hirsch (born June 21, 1934), is a magazine publisher, a founder of the

New York City Marathon The New York City Marathon (currently branded TCS New York City Marathon after its headline sponsor) is an annual marathon () that courses through the five boroughs of New York City. It is the largest marathon in the world, with 53,627 finishe ...

, a candidate for

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

and a television commentator. Hirsch was the founding publisher of

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, New Times and The Runner magazines. Hirsch was also the worldwide publisher of Runner’s World, the first publishing director of

Men's Health ''Men's Health'' (''MH''), published by Hearst, is the world's largest men's magazine brand, with 35 editions in 59 countries. It is also the best-selling men's magazine on U.S. newsstands. Started as a men's health magazine by Rodale, Inc. ...

and the publisher of La Cucina Italiana. He is currently the chairman of the board of the

New York Road Runners New York Road Runners (NYRR) is a non-profit running organization based in New York City whose mission is to help and inspire people through running. It was founded in 1958 by Ted Corbitt with 47 members and has since grown to a membership of more ...

Early life, education and family

Hirsch was born in New York City and grew up in New Rochelle where he attended public schools. He graduated from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

in 1956 with a BA in history (magna cum laude) and the

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate business school of Harvard University, a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It is consistently ranked among the top business schools in the world and offers a large full-time MBA p ...

in 1962. He served as a naval officer on an LST home ported in Naples, Italy from 1957 to 1960. He and Shay Scrivner were married in 1989, the second marriage for each of them. He has two sons, David and William. He also has two stepsons, Ian Scrivner and Sean Scrivner.

Publishing career

Hirsch spent five years at Time–Life International from 1962 to 1967 becoming assistant publisher of

Life International ''Life'' was an American magazine published weekly from 1883 to 1972, as an intermittent "special" until 1978, and as a monthly from 1978 until 2000. During its golden age from 1936 to 1972, ''Life'' was a wide-ranging weekly general-interest ma ...

and Life en Espanol in 1965. In 1967, he joined

Clay Felker Clay Schuette Felker (October 2, 1925 – July 1, 2008) was an American magazine editor and journalist who co-founded ''New York'' magazine in 1968. He was known for bringing numerous journalists into the profession. ''The New York Times'' wrote ...

to prepare for the launch of

New York magazine ''New York'' is an American biweekly magazine concerned with life, culture, politics, and style generally, and with a particular emphasis on New York City. Founded by Milton Glaser and Clay Felker in 1968 as a competitor to ''The New Yorker'', ...

as president and publisher. The first issue was published in April 1968. In 1973, he founded

New Times magazine ''New Times'' was an American glossy bi-weekly national newspaper published from 1973 to 1979 by George Aaron Hirsch, George A. Hirsch. History and profile Hirsch had been publisher of ''New York (magazine), New York'' magazine, but resigned af ...

which he published until it folded in 1979. While publishing New Times, Hirsch launched The Runner magazine in 1978. In January 1987,

Rodale, Inc. Rodale, Inc. (), was an American publisher of health and wellness magazines, books, and digital properties headquartered in Emmaus, Pennsylvania, with a satellite office in New York City. The company was founded in 1930. In 2017, it was acquire ...

acquired The Runner and merged it with Runner’s World, where he became worldwide publisher after launching a number of international editions of the magazine. Hirsch was also the first publishing director of

and director of international magazines, positions he held until his retirement from Rodale in 2004. From 2005 to 2011, he was the chairman and publisher of ''

La Cucina Italiana ''La Cucina Italiana'' is an Italian monthly magazine focused on gastronomy and food culture. History First published in Milan on 15 December 1929 on the initiative of the journalist and literary man Umberto Notari, at the suggestion of his wi ...

'', the English language edition of Italy’s oldest and largest food and cooking magazine.

Running

Hirsch helped

Fred Lebow Fred Lebow (June 3, 1932 – October 9, 1994), born Fischel Lebowitz, was a runner, race director, and founder of the New York City Marathon. Born in Arad, Romania, he presided over the transformation of the race from one with 55 finishers in 1970 ...

start the five-borough

in 1976 to celebrate the nation’s bicentennial. With the success of the first race, it became an annual event that has become one of the world’s leading sporting events. In 1979, Hirsch founded the Midnight Run in New York’s Central Park, a race that is held every New Year’s Eve. From 1984 to 1986, Hirsch was the on air host of a weekly segment on ESPN's SportsCenter called “The Runner’s Corner." He has done television commentary for many distance running events including the New York City, Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Cincinnati (Flying Pig) marathons. He has also been a commentator for three

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

in 1984,

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

in 1988 and

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

in 1992. Beginning in Boston in 1969, Hirsch has run forty marathons with a personal best of 2:38 set in Boston in 1979 at the age of 44. He ran much of that race with

Joan Benoit Joan Benoit Samuelson (born May 16, 1957) is an American marathon runner who was the first women's Olympic Games marathon champion, winning the gold medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. She held the fastest time for an American woma ...

, who went on to win the first women’s Olympic marathon in 1984. In 2009, on a promise to his wife Shay, he ran his final marathon in New York at age 75. He won his age group in each of his last eight marathons. Hirsch became the chairman of the New York Road Runners in 2005. Each year in conjunction with the New York City Marathon, the George Hirsch Journalism Award is given to a writer who has made a significant contribution to the sport of running. In 2014, Hirsch was also the recipient of a lifetime achievement award from the Association of International Marathons and Distance Races, and in 2017 he was inducted into the Road Runners Club of America Hall of Fame.

Other

Hirsch was the unsuccessful Democratic candidate for Congress in Manhattan’s Silk Stocking District in 1986. In 1988, he was a delegate at the

Democratic National Convention The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 ...

. He has been on the board of

Salon Media Group ''Salon'' is an American politically progressive/liberal news and opinion website created in 1995. It publishes articles on U.S. politics, culture, and current events. Content and coverage ''Salon'' covers a variety of topics, including rev ...

since 2000. In 2003, Hirsch was the recipient of the

National Distance Running Hall of Fame The National Distance Running Hall of Fame was established on July 11, 1998, to honor those who have contributed to the sport of distance running. Many of those who are inducted have achieved great success as runners, but some members are enshrined ...

George Sheehan Journalism Award. In 2019, he was conferred the title of "Ufficiale dell’Ordine della Stella d’Italia" by the Republic of Italy for his role as an ambassador of Italian culture, and was named USATF's 2019 Masters Athlete of the Year for the 85-89 age group.

External links

One Man's Vision: Footrace in Five Boroughs

* ttps://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/24/sports/24waitz.html Grete Waitz and the Humanity of the Long-Distance Runner
60 Years Ago, An Olympic Trifecta of Endurance

The First Five-Borough New York City MarathonRemembering Roger Bannister, the First to Break a Four-Minute Mile
* ttps://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/30/nyregion/70-years-later-bobby-thomsons-homer-still-hurts.html 70 Years Later, Bobby Thomson’s Homer Still Hurtsbr>How the New York City Marathon Grew UpCBS Mornings: George Hirsch reflects on baseball's "shot heard 'round the world"

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hirsch, George Aaron 1934 births Living people American male marathon runners Businesspeople from New Rochelle, New York American male journalists Princeton University alumni American publishers (people) Harvard Business School alumni Journalists from New York City Track and field athletes from New York City