[12] With the support of Manhattan Borough President Percy Sutton, the men convinced Mayor Abraham Beame and, eventually, race director Fred Lebow.

[13] The marathon grew in popularity two years later when Norwegian Grete Waitz broke the women's world record, finishing in 2:32:30.

At 13.109 miles (21.097 km), runners cross the Pulaski Bridge, marking the halfway point of the race and the entrance into Long Island City in Queens.

After about 15.534 miles (25.000 km), runners exit Queens and cross the East River via the lower level of the Queensboro (59th Street) Bridge into Manhattan.

Nina Kuscsik, Pat Barrett, Lynn Blackstone, Liz Franceschini, Cathy Miller, and Jane Muhrke protested the rule of the Amateur Athletic Union that women marathoners had to start their race ten minutes before or after the men, which as implemented by the New York City Marathon in 1972 meant that women had to start running ten minutes before the men.

The New York Road Runners club annually sponsors "Grete's Great Gallop," a 10 kilometer race around the Central Park loop, in her honor.

Bill Rodgers won his fourth and last New York City Marathon on another warm day in 2:11:42, overtaking Kirk Pfeffer who led for the first 23+1⁄2 miles of the race.

New York Marathon chief Fred Lebow rescinded Ruiz's time after determining she had not finished the 1979 race, and officials in Boston quickly followed suit.

Alberto Salazar's 2:08:13 was initially considered to be a world's best in the marathon, but the mark was later rescinded by The Athletics Congress (now known as USA Track & Field) when the course was measured to be short by approximately 150 metres (160 yd).

[26] Salazar remarked in 1985 that he would continue to believe that he ran a full marathon, since the lack of crowd control forced him to run wide during his turns.

[26][28] England's Geoff Smith held a lead through the last half of the race, but was caught at the 26 mile mark in Central Park by 1972 Olympic 1500 metres bronze medalist Rod Dixon from New Zealand, who won by 9 seconds.

[29] Orlando Pizzolato won on a hot day, stopping six times due to heat cramps, but still winning by over a minute in 2:14:53.

Grete Waitz, attempting to win her 10th NYC Marathon, finished fourth in 2:34:34 and then retired from competitive distance running.

During the 1994 event, Germán Silva recovered from a wrong turn seven-tenths of a mile before the finish that put him temporarily in second place 40 yards behind Benjamín Paredes.

The incident earned him the nickname "Wrong Way Silva"[30] To date, this event was the coldest NYC Marathon ever (1979 was the warmest, topping out at 80 degrees).

The top female finisher was Margaret Okayo of Kenya in time of 2:22:31, breaking her previous course record of 2:24:21 set in 2001.

Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee also completed the race in 2006, finishing in 5:33:43, and wearing bib #110, signifying the 110 pounds lost during his weight loss campaign.

Martin Lel from Kenya won the men's race in a time of 2:09:04, completing a double of the 2007 London and New York Marathons.

The women's winner was the world marathon record holder Paula Radcliffe from Great Britain in a time of 2:23:09, one second faster than her 2004 win.

[37] Joseph Marotta, 66, of Staten Island, N.Y. succumbed to a heart attack hours after he completed his fourth New York City Marathon.

Gebregziabher Gebremariam of Ethiopia, in his first ever marathon, won the race after breaking away from his last rival, Emmanuel Mutai of Kenya, in the 25th mile to finish in a time of 2:08:14.

Edna Kiplagat won the women's title with a time of 2 hours, 28 minutes, 20 seconds, ahead of American Shalane Flanagan.

That declaration started a debate on whether to hold the race with thousands of residents still without electricity, public transportation, and other basic needs.

Proponents for going ahead said that the event would give an economic and morale boost to the city, while opponents said the resources (such as food, water, and police) were better used elsewhere.

[56] Controversy over the cancellation of the Marathon, the timing of the announcement and the repercussions of the decision, including criticism of New York Road Runners CEO Mary Wittenberg, continued well after the 2012 race was meant to have taken place.

Duplicating their London Marathon wins from April 2013, Tsegaye Kebede and Priscah Jeptoo each won $500,000 for their season-wide efforts.

Jeptoo spotted Buzunesh Deba, an Ethiopian runner who has lived in the Bronx since 2009, three and a half minutes at the half-marathon mark, but came back to pass her in the 24th mile.

Geoffrey Kamworor of Kenya won the men's competition with a time of 2:10:53, 3 seconds ahead of 2nd-place finisher Wilson Kipsang.

Lelisa Desisa of Ethiopia won his first New York City Marathon after finishing third in 2017, third in 2015 and second in 2014, followed by Shura Kitata and defending champion Geoffrey Kamworor.

The male race was won by British athlete and Team Real Runners coach Kevin Quinn in a time of 2:23:48.