Percy Sutton: The Builder
The New York City Marathon became a 5-boro route thanks to five Trailblazers who believed a race could unite an entire city. In 1976, their vision transformed the marathon from a local race confined to Central Park into a 26.2-mile journey through all five boroughs.
They were the people who turned an impossible idea into a global tradition, emulated in major cities around the world. Fifty years later, their legacy lives on in every runner, every volunteer, every bridge crossed, and every New Yorker who lines the streets to cheer.
This blog post is the third in a five-part series honoring the Trailblazers.
Seeing the Potential
When Manhattan Borough President Percy Sutton crowned the winners of the 1975 New York City Marathon in Central Park, he wasn’t expecting to see his photo on the front page of newspapers the next day. After all, the marathon was an obscure event with just a few hundred finishers, a handful of spectators, and baby strollers and Frisbee players crowding the course.
But the race was the U.S. national marathon championship that year, so a few photographers had shown up, and one snapped a photo of Sutton placing a laurel wreath on winner Kim Merritt’s head as she crossed the finish line. It was a great shot—Sutton’s delight, Merritt’s powerful stride, “USA” on the banner, a cadre of officials.
It all made the New York City Marathon look like a big deal, and that impression wasn’t lost on Sutton. So, he was receptive when runner and political gadfly George Spitz approached him with the idea of a 5-boro New York City Marathon in 1976 to celebrate the U.S. Bicentennial. It didn’t hurt that the 5-boro vision came from the legendary Ted Corbitt, a 1952 Olympian and the founding president of New York Road Runners.
Sutton also welcomed the idea of a cultural and economic driver for New York City, which was facing near-bankruptcy. He recognized the potential of the marathon to showcase the city on a global stage.
Building an Iconic Race
Sutton served on the New York City Marathon’s Honorary Board of Advisors and as chairman of the Marathon Committee, a group of NYRR officials and other runners. It was Sutton who proposed the now-iconic route beginning on Staten Island and crossing the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge.
“When we sat at that table, [the idea] was to draw the route—we were going to start it across the bridge in Staten Island. We’d come across, we’d go into Brooklyn, and from there go to Queens, and then we’d run to the Bronx, before finishing in Manhattan,” he said.
He presented the idea of a 5-boro marathon to Mayor Abe Beame’s office, which rebuffed it, then said they’d reconsider if the necessary funds could be raised. Sutton made that happen, securing the initial $25,000 contribution from the Rudin family that helped bring the race to life.
He brought the other borough presidents on board, along with city agencies and civic leaders, forging the partnership between New York Road Runners and New York City that remains the foundation of the TCS New York City Marathon we know today.
A Life and Legacy in NYC
A native of Texas and the son of a civil rights activist, Sutton stowed away on a passenger train to New York City when he was just 12 years old. He later studied at three colleges before serving in World War II with the Tuskegee Airmen.
He became a prominent civil rights lawyer, representing Malcolm X, and was elected to the New York State Assembly. As NYC’s longest-serving Manhattan borough president (1966–1977), he vigorously promoted Harlem’s economic development. In 1977, he was the first Black candidate for mayor of New York City, losing the nomination to Ed Koch. In 1981, Sutton’s Inner City Broadcasting Company bought the Apollo Theater and spearheaded a $20 million renovation of the Harlem landmark.
Sutton remained a supporter of New York Road Runners and running all his life, leaving an unforgettable mark on the New York City Marathon.