Central Park Joggers Try to Get Muggers on the Run

Even the most jaded New Yorkers were shocked when a gang of youths brutally attacked a young woman jogging in Central Park last April 19. Their so-called “wilding” rampage included attacks on others in the park, some of whom were also running.

The incident touched a nerve in the city, not only because of the crime’s pointless and random nature, but also because Central Park contains the city’s most popular running trails. Fred Lebow, president of the New York Road Runner Club and director of the New York Marathon (which has its finish line in Central Park) moved quickly to prevent a recurrence of the tragedy.

“Out of a tragic situation, something positive happened,” Lebow said.

The NYRRC, with its 29,000 members, has organized safety running groups in the park. Runners wear orange safety vests and group leaders carry radios that are tied into the park’s police precinct.

“We have at the moment 260 volunteers out there as early as 5 o’clock in the morning until 9:30 at night,” Lebow said. “We hope to have as many as 600 people involved. We also have group runs now, three or four times a day at various hours. In fact, we have more runners in Central Park training now than we have ever had before.”

Lebow said there was great concern among New York runners that Central Park would be lost to joggers and taken over by muggers.

“We were afraid that it would be a no-man’s land,” he said. “But the opposite has happened. We have hired an entire staff to monitor full-time safety in Central Park and all parks in the city. It can be kids throwing rocks, or the lights are out--there are many situations. Safety in Central Park now is the best it has ever been.”

Perestroika may have reached the mainstream in the business world of the Soviet Union, but the benefits have yet to trickle down fully to Soviet sports. While athletes have broken through the Iron Curtain to participate in nearly all amateur sports and even on a handful of North American professional teams, they are still waiting for their paychecks.

This is especially true of the Soviet Union’s world-class distance runners.

Iakov Tolstikov set a national record while placing second in the Chicago Marathon last year but said the government eventually allowed him to keep only $800, or 2.7%, of his $30,000 prize money. The U.S. government got into the act, taking $9,000 for tax purposes. Tolstikov was back in Chicago this year but, hampered by a leg injury, finished 16th. Prize money was awarded to the first 15 places.

Before the race last week, Tolstikov was forthright in criticizing GOSKOMSPORT, the Soviet sports committee.

“We’re displeased with the politics of GOSKOMSPORT,” Tolstikov said through an interpreter. “We’re negotiating (to improve the arrangements). Tennis players are able to play more frequently than marathon runners. But we do get our expenses paid for. We get good training facilities and medical care.”

Showing that it plays no favorites, the committee limited Ikaterina Khramenkova, eighth in Chicago last year, to $250 of her $3,500 prize money.

“We’d like to get a little bit more,” she said. “But it is not our decision.”

Ravil Kashapov, 10th in the Seoul Olympic marathon, will go through it all again. The Soviet runner was second in Chicago this year and earned $30,000. He said he had no idea how much he will actually receive.

Running Notes

Arturo Barrios, the world record-holder at 10,000 meters, has lent his name to a 10K road race. The Arturo Barrios Invitational is Nov. 26 in Santa Ana. Barrios, from Mexico, set the world record of 28 minutes 8.23 seconds on Aug. 18 in Berlin. The race, with a handful of elite athletes, will raise funds for aiding the education of Latino children in Southern California. Barrio residents will run in the race, which starts and finishes in front of Santa Ana’s city hall. . . . Tony Fisch of Los Angeles will run in the New York Marathon Sunday. Fisch, 36, is legally blind. His participation was made possible with the help of volunteers from the Achilles Track Club, whose specialty is helping disabled runners.