| |
National Distance Running Hall of Fame
Names Carey Pinkowski 2004 Lebow Award Recipient
November 5, 2004 (New York, NY) -- The National Distance Running Hall of Fame has named Carey Pinkowski of Chicago, Illinois the winner of the 2004 Fred Lebow Award for lifetime achievement.
Presently executive race director of The LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon, Pinkowski has grown the event to one of the largest marathons with 40,000 runners. Pinkowski is responsible for designing the LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon course is for its speed, and coordinating all facets of the race with many city, state and federal regulations. The course is world renowned for its speed, which is one of the reasons why runners from all 50 states and 121 foreign countries run it.
Established to honor the spirit and commitment of the man who co-founded the New York City Marathon and who worked tirelessly to build the race into a world-renowned distance running event, the Fred Lebow Award was presented to Pinkowski at a breakfast held in his honor on Friday, November 5, at 9:00 a.m., at the Tavern on the Green, in New York City.
“This award is a great honor for me,” said Pinkowski. “I had the wonderful pleasure of knowing Fred Lebow both as an athlete who competed in his events and as a fellow race director. Fred was a true original. He was a visionary, a leader and the ultimate promoter of distance running. All of the major marthons owe a great deal to Fred Lebow for his endless determination, innovation and his celebration of the human spirit.”
Pinkowski’s other achievements include:
• |
Runner’s World magazine Race Director of the Year Award in 2002 |
• |
Marathon Foto/Road Race Management Race Director of the Year Award, presented by Running Times in 2001 |
• |
Chicago Area Runners Association Gold Medal Award for Event Production in 1999 |
• |
Illinois Track & Cross Country Coaches Association Meritorious Service to the Youth of Illinois Award in 1998 |
“Carey Pinkowski, like Fred Lebow, has demonstrated vision, dedication and commitment to the sport of distance running,” said Allan Steinfeld, President of the New York Road Runners and Director of the ING New York City Marathon. “Carey’s achievements reflect the spirit not only of this sport, but also of Fred Lebow – a man who demonstrated that the ability to succeed comes from inner strength and personal determination.”
The 2003 Lebow Award is sponsored by the National Distance Running Hall of Fame, the New York Road Runners, Larry Rawson and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.
The National Distance Running Hall of Fame is located in Utica, New York, along a stretch of the New York State Thruway that could be called “Hall of Fame Corridor.” Established in 1998, the Hall’s prestigious induction is celebrated at an annual ceremony held in conjunction with the Boilermaker Road Race during Hall of Fame Weekend, the second weekend each July, in Utica, New York. Its current list of 24 members includes legends such as Bill Rodgers, Frank Shorter, Alberto Salazar, Jim Ryun, Grete Waitz, Kathrine Switzer, Mary Decker Slaney, Joan Benoit Samuelson and the late Steve Prefontaine. The Hall is dedicated to honoring the sport of distance running and the athletes who have made contributions to the sport, from top runners and the most decorated athletes, to those who pushed the sport’s barriers and eventually broke them. The Hall is housed in a three-story brownstone building and honors these athletes’ talents, initiative and drive through the pictures, memorabilia and awards that decorate the exhibit rooms and pull the visitor into the runner’s world, a place often inhabited by the runner alone as she/he challenges the limits of the human spirit. The Hall of Fame offers membership opportunities for road races, clubs, organizations and individuals, at a variety of levels. More information can be found at the Hall’s official website, www.distancerunning.com.
Contact: John R. Petrone, Co-Director, Hall of Fame, 315.724.4525.
|
