The Yonkers Marathon, is a marathon race held annually in

Yonkers, New York Yonkers () is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States. Developed along the Hudson River, it is the third most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City and Buffalo. The population of Yonkers was 211,569 as en ...

. Founded in 1907, it is the second oldest marathon in the United States, after the Boston Marathon. It is held on the third Sunday in October. In addition to the marathon, there is a

half marathon A half marathon is a road running event of —half the distance of a marathon. It is common for a half marathon event to be held concurrently with a marathon or a 5K race, using almost the same course with a late start, an early finish or shortcut ...

race and a 5K course. At the end of the race there is a gathering and festivities centered on Van de Donck Park.

History

The first Yonkers Marathon was held on

Thanksgiving Day Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Philippines. It is also observed in the Netherlander town of Leiden and ...

1907. From 1907 to 1945, the race was typically held in November.Association of Road Racing Statisticians
Yonkers Marathon
Retrieved May 15, 2010 Johnny Hayes and

Jim Crowley James Harold "Sleepy Jim" Crowley (September 10, 1902 – January 15, 1986) was an American football player and coach. He gained fame as one-fourth of the University of Notre Dame's legendary "Four Horsemen" backfield where he played halfback fr ...

won the first two races. Sammy Mellor helped establish the Yonkers Marathon with Edward Wetmore Kinsley, and finished second in the event's first two runnings. In 1909 the race was sponsored by the Mercury Athletic Club. From 1938 to 1965, and again in 1974, the Yonkers Marathon was recognised by the

Amateur Athletic Union The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It h ...

as the

USA Marathon Championships The USA Marathon Championships is the annual national championship, national championships for marathon running in the United States. The race serves as a way of designating the American national champion for the marathon. The men's race was first ...

, and in relevant years as a qualifying event for the US Olympic team. The race has averaged roughly 200 finishers during the 2010s, double the number from the prior decade. The 2015 (90th anniversary) course was

USA Track & Field USA Track & Field (USATF) is the United States national governing body for the sports of track and field, cross country running, road running and racewalking (known as the sport of athletics outside the US). The USATF was known between 1979 and ...

certified and served as a qualifying event for the Boston Marathon. The 2020 edition of the race was cancelled due to the

coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identifie ...

, with all registrants automatically receiving refunds. The 2022 edition saw 101 finishers and Juan Fernandez De Cordova won the event in 2 hours, 48 minutes and 3 seconds.

Course

The double-loop course of the Yonkers Marathon has been known as being tough and hilly;

New York City Marathon The New York City Marathon (currently branded TCS New York City Marathon after its headline sponsor (commercial), sponsor) is an annual Marathon (sport), marathon () that courses through the five boroughs of New York City. It is the largest mar ...

founder

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 ...

cited it as one of his favorite marathons. For its 90th running in 2015 the track had a newly designed course that added greater variety by eliminating the double-loop, and replacing it with a single-loop that followed a scenic route along the

Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between N ...

, and then all over the city, past parks, past the Dunwoodie Golf Course (offering a glimpse of the distant

New York City skyline New York City, the most populous city in the United States, is home to over 7,000 completed high-rise buildings of at least , of which at least 95 are taller than . The tallest building in New York is One World Trade Center, which rises ...

), and through a variety of neighborhoods.
Aris, Hezi. "City of Yonkers Celebrates 90th Running of Yonkers Marathon Sunday, October 18, 2015". ''Yonkers Tribune''. August 18, 2015 In 2016 the course reverted to the double-loop.

Notes

References

{{Reflist

External links

Official website
Sports in Yonkers, New York, Marathon Marathons in the United States October sporting events 1907 establishments in New York (state) Recurring sporting events established in 1907