Our running community lost a true foot soldier in the quest of properly preserving New York Road Runners (NYRR) History.
Gary was someone I could depend on to complete projects thoroughly, accurately and in a timely manner. He was always encouraging and volunteering his services as I launched the Theodore Corbitt Institute for Running History Research in 2024.
Capturing Oral History:
Gary had the foresight to conduct recorded interviews with Joe Kleinerman and Ted Corbitt over 25 years ago. To receive these tapes of my father and being a running historian is like striking gold. Gary interviewed Joe on 12 occasions and 10 times with my father totaling over 7 hours with each. What a beautiful surprise gift Gary gave me and future running history scholars.
One of these interviews told the rest of the story on an incident where my father faced racism in Poughkeepsie, New York in the mid – 1960s. He talks about the inability to secure a hotel room the day before the Poughkeepsie to Yonkers 37 Mile Road Race. Instead, he had to take the train back home and get a car ride on the morning of the race. I remember this over 55 years ago of him coming back home that evening, and now I have the full story.
The Lost Documentary:
Gary found this 1993 48-minute documentary called “Along this he Course – The History of the New York Road Runners Club” from Joe Kleinerman’s Running Collection. It’s the only compilation of interviews I’ve ever seen hearing from the pioneers who invented the modern-day sport of long-distance road running.
I often state that history is fragile, too often overlooked, understudied, and thrown out. This documentary could have easily been lost forever.
The New York City Marathon was founded by the collective work of the individuals interviewed in this documentary representing Road Runners Club of America (RRCA) and Road Runners Club: New York Association (NYRR). There was not one, two or three individuals who founded the NYC Marathon. It was the collective work of the following running and administrative pioneers:
Vince Chiappetta
Nat Cirulnick
Ann Cirulnick
Ted Corbitt
Barry Geisler
Hugh Jascourt (Mentioned)
Joe Kleinerman
Nina Kuscsik
Fred Lebow
Gabe Mirkin
Harry Murphy (Mentioned)
Browning Ross
Aldo Scandurra
George Spitz
Kurt Steiner
John Sterner (Mentioned)
Percy Sutton
Organizing Vince Chiappetta’s Running Collection:
An important task that lies ahead for historic athletes and running officials is organizing their respective records and memorabilia. This work typically falls on family members. The Theodore Corbitt Institute (TCI) is encouraging the running industry to make this work a priority. The first step is to determine what has historical significance and then find a permanent home for the long-term custodianship of the collection.
Vince in recent years is just beginning to get the recognition he so richly deserves. He followed the lead set by Aldo Scandurra of volunteering for local and national committee work. This put him in a position to help shape how the governance of our sport evolved. Gary was the archivist for Vince’s Running Collection. This included meeting and interviewing him often. TCI will work to help find a home for Vince’s collection.
Road Runner’s Club: New York Association Newsletters (1959 – 1974):
Gary’s last project for the Theodore Corbitt Institute was to produce an index guide for the first sixty issues of the quarterly newsletter that my father edited and was printed on our dining room table using a mimeograph machine.
The index and newsletters can be found here:
https://tedcorbitt.com/rcc-ny-association-newsletters-1959-1974/
Gary’s obituary is below.
Gary Corbitt
Archivist: Theodore Corbitt Institute (TCI)
Historian: National Black Marathoners Association (NBMA)
May 15, 2025
OBITUARY
Gary Meltzer
July 10, 1945 – April 24, 2025
Gary Meltzer, age 79, of Flushing, New York passed away on Thursday, April 24, 2025.
Gary was born on July 10, 1945, at Hunts Point Hospital in the Bronx. He grew up in Jamaica, Queens, graduated from Richmond HIll High School, and was a member of the class of 1967 at SUNY Oswego. For 34 years, he was a junior high school social studies teacher in the New York City Public Schools in Brooklyn and Queens.
He was an avid runner who finished 33 marathons and served on the board of the New York Road Runners Club and was the board secretary for a number of years. After retiring from teaching in 2001, Gary followed his passion of running and worked at a friend’s running shoe store in White Plains.
No one was better than Gary when it came to leisurely pursuits. He loved traveling, especially going to the city of New Orleans and watching Max run half marathons across the country. He loved going to the movies, baseball games, collecting baseball cards, watching birds, bike riding, walking, and watching Max play softball games throughout New York City. He loved spending time with friends and family. But most of all, he especially loved spending time with Martha and Max, as nothing made him happier.
He is survived by his wife Martha, their son Max, and his older sister Barbara.
In his honor donations to the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI), the Queens Museum, or The Cowen Institute for Public Education Initiatives in New Orleans would be appreciated.