Runners have been crossing the Central Park finish line of the New York City Marathon, cheered on by thousands of fans, since 1970.
But Brooklyn beat Manhattan on the marathon front by decades. Starting in 1908, Brooklyn began holding its own marathon—on chilly February 12, President Lincoln’s birthday, no less.
For the 1909 race, “the runners started at the Thirteenth Armory in Crown Heights, ran along Ocean Parkway, then past Coney Island’s silent amusements to Sea Gate and back, a 26-mile run,” wrote John Manbeck in Chronicles of Historic Brooklyn.
These photos from 1909 show us the 150 runners at the start being sent off by thousands of onlookers . . . and then the first and second-place winners.
The marathon appears to have been held in fits and starts and modified versions through the 1920s, then quietly disappeared.
[Photos: Bain Collection, LOC]
Tags: Brooklyn 1900s, Brooklyn Marathon, Brooklyn sports, Crown Heights street Brooklyn, NYC Marathon, Thirteenth Regiement Armory Brooklyn
Ephemeral New York 
November 7, 2016 at 2:01 pm |
A Marathon in Feburary? The wind coming off the Atlantic would have been humbling to say the very least.
November 8, 2016 at 8:40 pm |
What would have possessed the second place finisher to eithr run without shoes, or remove them afterwards?
January 22, 2018 at 3:01 am |
Hello, my grandfather, Arthur Ziegler, came in 6th in the 1903 Boston Marathon and must have run in this one too because I have a plaque from this race. Unfortunately, I have been unable to find any information of how he placed in the race. I would be grateful for any help in tracking down what he placed in this race.
January 25, 2018 at 7:40 pm |
I finally found an image of the 1909 Brooklyn Marathon results. My grandfather, Arthur Ziegler, came in 16th place with a time of 3:22:28, winner James Clark was 2:46:52.