George Aaron Hirsch (born June 21, 1934), is a magazine publisher, a founder of the five-borough New York City Marathon, a former unsuccessful candidate for Congress, and a television commentator.

[12] Hirsch helped Fred Lebow start the five-borough New York City Marathon in 1976 to celebrate the nation’s bicentennial.

He has done television commentary for many distance running events including the New York City, Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Cincinnati Flying Pig marathons.

[18] Each year in conjunction with the New York City Marathon, the George Hirsch Journalism Award is given to a writer who has made a significant contribution to the sport of running.

In 2003, Hirsch was the recipient of the National Distance Running Hall of Fame George Sheehan Journalism Award.

[30] In 2014, Hirsch was the recipient of a lifetime achievement award from the Association of International Marathons and Distance Races,[31] and in 2017 he was inducted into the Road Runners Club of America Hall of Fame.

[32] In 2019, he was knighted with the title of "Ufficiale dell’Ordine della Stella d’Italia" by the Republic of Italy [33] for his role as an ambassador of Italian culture, and was named USATF's 2019 Masters Athlete of the Year for the 85-89 age group.