More than 2 million spectators and 60,000 runners will fill the streets on Nov. 1 for the 50th anniversary of the New York City Marathon’s five borough course. Among the racers will be 83-year-old Dave Obelkevich, the marathon’s only lifelong participant, having run all the races since it moved out of Central Park and into all five boroughs.
“You can start running at any age: 50, 70, 20, 10, whatever,” Obelkevich told The Epoch Times in a recent interview. People come from around the world to compete in the New York City Marathon, but fewer than 100 of them are 80 or older this year, according to race organizers.
The 26.2 mile race, which winds its way through Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, and the Bronx, will stream starting 8 a.m. ET on ESPN Unlimited, with pre-race coverage running from 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. ET and continuing coverage from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. ET. Other platforms will also broadcast the race throughout the day.
Over time, some things have changed for Obelkevich, who in 1982 ran his fastest New York City Marathon in 2 hours and 40 minutes. A few years ago, his daughter Maria began racing with him, providing that extra support as needed. “It’s an actual blessing,” Obelkevich said. “After a few hours I tend to have my balance deteriorate, so to speak, and she’s there just to lend a hand or maybe a shoulder until I regain my balance. So it’s a physical blessing that way.”
In recent years, he’s done more walking during the race, and he said he isn’t worried about his time anymore. He wants to finish not just for himself but the family and friends cheering him on all these years. He recalled that at last year’s New York City Marathon, a top co-racer told him, “Dave, as long as you can keep doing marathons, keep doing them, don’t stop.” These are the words that keep him motivated. “I’m going to try to follow that advice,” he said.
And given all that running has given him, Obelkevich wants to encourage others who are looking to jump in and change their lives like he did. “Find some other people to start with,” he said. “Don’t be afraid to walk. … Run and walk. It’s a natural thing to do.”
If you’re curious, watch from home or maybe join the fans, friends, and family members who come to the streets and cheer on the runners from the streets of New York City for free—prime seats in the grandstand at Central Park with a view of the finish line are sold out for this year.
The advice Obelkevich would give every runner or potential runner is to “have fun.”
“That’s the main thing: Have fun. Everyone says good luck. That’s bad advice. Have fun is the best advice,” he said.
You could call Obelkevich an accidental marathoner. One day, he was so inspired by runners in Central Park that he joined up with them for a loop (6 miles) and unwittingly was participating in his first New York City Marathon. The retired public school teacher, father, and grandfather had so much fun during his happenstance marathon loop that he decided to sign up for the marathon the following year. He finished his first official New York City Marathon in 1974, dropped out of the 1975 race due to dizziness, and started his unbroken streak in 1976.
The race has been canceled twice since then: in 2012 due to Hurricane Sandy and in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
From its inaugural race in 1970 until 1975, the New York City Marathon was held entirely inside Central Park (running multiple loops around the park’s drives). Moving the New York City Marathon out of Central Park and into all five boroughs was imagined as a one-time event to commemorate America’s bicentennial.
“So in 1976, all of a sudden we’re out of Central Park,” recalled Obelkevich, who was born in Binghamton and moved to New York City in 1961 to attend Columbia University. “The finish was there. So I saw parts of the city I’d never been to before. I never ran into Staten Island before, for example, or very much of the Bronx, so just seeing new parts of the city was a big change.”
Of the race today, Obelkevich, who has called the Upper West Side his home for decades, said his “favorite part is what I’m used to.”
“So when we come into Central Park, that’s my favorite part aside from the finish line. The finish line is what I look forward to most after seven or eight hours. That’s what I look forward to seeing.”
Dave Obelkevich with daughter Maria T. Finch in 2025. (Courtesy Dave Obelkevich)
Obelkevich recalled with clarity how during his first runners club meetings, he didn’t feel comfortable knowing only one other person. He left unsure of the whole thing. But he pushed himself to the second meeting and did better. “I opened my mouth and spoke to a complete stranger, it’s not that hard to do. So that’s changed my life,” he said. “It just changed my character.”
Beyond New York, Obelkevich has compiled an extraordinary ultramarathon résumé. He has completed more than 115 total marathons and more than 200 ultramarathons, including eight Boston Marathons and becoming the first American to complete South Africa’s grueling Comrades Marathon 10 times.
Out of all his races, he described the Comrades 54 mile race as “the most interesting.”
“That started in 1921 and a lot of people say that’s the best race in the world,” Obelkevich said. “They get like 15,000 runners to do 54 miles. It’s completely unbelievable. And it’s a major holiday for the entire country.”
Look for Obelkevich on Sunday wearing his XL lucky shirt his friend Tucker Anderson made for him 15 years ago. The shirt has his name on top followed by big block text: FINISHER EVERY NYC MARATHON. The next line reads “1976-???”
