The Mastercard New York Mini 10K is an annual 10-kilometer

road running Road running is the sport of running on a measured course over an established road. This differs from track and field on a regular track and cross country running over natural terrain. These events are usually classified as long-distance ac ...

competition for women that takes place in

Central Park Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West Side, Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the List of New York City parks, fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban par ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The race has been organised by New York Road Runners since 1972. The competition has both an elite-level race and a fun run, both of which accounted for a total of 5189 finishers in 2010. The idea of a 10K women's race was the joint vision of elite runners

Nina Kuscsik Nina Kuscsik (born January 2, 1939) is a retired female long-distance runner from the United States, who has participated in over 80 marathons.Rothlein, Lewis. "Here's looking at you." ''Women's Sports and Fitness'', Oct. 1989, p. 3. ''Gale OneFil ...

and

Kathrine Switzer Kathrine Virginia Switzer (born January 5, 1947) is an American marathon runner, author, and television commentator. In 1967, she became the first woman to run the Boston Marathon#History, Boston Marathon as an officially registered competitor. ...

, and New York City Marathon co-director

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 ...

– in the early 1970s, there was a dearth of women's road racing competitions. The race's inaugural sponsor

Johnson Wax S. C. Johnson & Son, Inc. (commonly referred to as S. C. Johnson) is an American multinational, privately held manufacturer of household cleaning supplies and other consumer chemicals based in Racine, Wisconsin. In 2017, S. C. Jo ...

(who were promoting a women's shaving gel called ''Crazylegs'') suggested a full

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...

event (26 miles and 385 yards), but it was decided that a more manageable "mini marathon" race over 6 miles would be held. A total of 78 runners took part in the race, which was the world's first women-only road racing competition. The course of the road race begins near 61st Street on

West and heads north, entering Central Park at West 90th Street. The route loops in a clockwise direction, turning southwards at Harlem Meer around the 3-mile (5-kilometre) mark. It continues south past the

Central Park Reservoir The Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir, also known as Central Park Reservoir, is a decommissioned reservoir in Central Park in the borough of Manhattan, New York City, stretching from 86th to 96th Streets. It covers and holds over 10⁹ US ...

and the Guggenheim Museum. Runners continue southwards until they come towards the park's limits near

Wollman Rink Wollman Rink is a public ice rink in the southern part of Central Park, Manhattan, New York City. It is named after the Wollman family who donated the funds for its original construction. The rink is open for ice skating from late October t ...

at which point it heads to the west and turns north to the finishing point near the Tavern on the Green and

Sheep Meadow Sheep Meadow is a meadow near the southwestern section of Central Park, between West 66th and 69th Streets in Manhattan, New York City. It is adjacent to Central Park Mall to the east, The Ramble and Lake to the north, West Drive to the we ...

. The course record is held by Asmae Leghzaoui of

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

, who finished the race in 30:29 to win the 2002 edition.

Grete Waitz Grete Waitz (, 1 October 195319 April 2011) was a Norwegian marathon runner and former world record holder. In 1979, at the New York City Marathon, she became the first woman in history to run the marathon in under two and a half hours. Waitz wo ...

and Tegla Loroupe are the race's most successful athletes, with both of them having each won the race on five separate occasions. Following her death in 2011, the 40th edition of the race was dedicated to Waitz.Masai Repeats in New York 10Km
IAAF/NYRR (2011-06-11). Retrieved on 2011-06-11.

Past winners

Deena Kastor at the 2007 Boston Marathon

Key:

Statistics

Winners by country

Multiple winners

References

;List of winners *Post, Marty & Leydig, Jack (2010-06-14)

Association of Road Racing Statisticians The Association of Road Racing Statisticians is an independent, non-profit organization that collects, analyzes, and publishes statistics regarding road running races. The primary purpose of the ARRS is to maintain a valid list of world road record ...

. Retrieved on 2010-06-15.

External links

Official website
at New York Road Runners
Oakley New York Mini 10K
at Shtoor Events {{Central Park 10K runs Road running competitions in the United States Recurring sporting events established in 1972 Sports competitions in New York City Central Park Women's athletics competitions Women's sports in New York (state) Annual sporting events in the United States Women in New York City