1. Mary Wittenberg was born in Buffalo, New York, and raised in a large and athletic Irish Catholic family.
18 Facts About Mary Wittenberg
1. 2.
Mary Wittenberg went on to attend Canisius College, and was a coxswain for the men's crew team that won a championship for small colleges.
3.
Mary Wittenberg won a few local races and trained with Canisius' men's cross country team.
4.
Mary Wittenberg trained with the men's cross country team while attending law school at University of Notre Dame.
5.
Mary Wittenberg would spend busy days working in the office, marathon training with the University of Richmond cross country team, and studying to pass the bar.
6.
Mary Wittenberg used a late surge to overtake the leaders in the second half of the race.
7.
Mary Wittenberg ran in only two more marathons due to injuries and a focus on her law career.
8.
However, in 1998 Mary Wittenberg opted for a career change, as she wanted to devote time to start a family.
9.
Mary Wittenberg helped secure the deal that made ING a title sponsor for the race.
10.
In 2005, Mary Wittenberg was named President and Chief Executive of NYRR, and became the first female director of a major international marathon.
11.
NYRR and Mary Wittenberg administered the 2008 US Men's Marathon Olympic Trials.
12.
Mary Wittenberg's sensitive handling of the tragic news at the post-race press conference was cited as an example of her "class and compassion".
13.
Mary Wittenberg expanded NYRR's presence in the community by providing running classes for various levels of runners, establishing running programs for children through the NYRR Foundation, and setting up an online coaching network.
14.
Mary Wittenberg is involved with programs to prevent childhood obesity, and was a guest of Michelle Obama's at the White House for the President's Task Force on Childhood Obesity.
15.
Mary Wittenberg said that the application fee is necessary due to the weak economy and to ensure commitment from those applying.
16.
Mary Wittenberg has received notable praise for her work at NYRR.
17.
In May 2015, Mary Wittenberg was named as CEO of the newly-founded Virgin Group subsidiary Virgin Sport, which was established to provide support to community leaders in the US, the UK and South Africa to organise mass participation running, cycling and triathlon events.
18.
NYRR holds over fifty races yearly, and though no longer a marathoner, Mary Wittenberg participates in several of these races.