NEW YORK MARATHON : Americans Running on Incentive

Charting the progress of Americans in the history of the marathon is stomach-churning business. Now surging, now receding, American men and women seem to achieve prominence on the world scene only to disappear.

The pattern asserted itself again last summer. Mark Plaatjes, a new citizen, won the marathon at the World Championships and became the first American man to win a major championship over the distance since Frank Shorter’s Olympic victory in 1972. Shorter also was a silver medalist in 1976.

American women have fared only slightly better with Joan Benoit’s years of consistency, including her victory in the first women’s Olympic marathon in 1984.

Various theories have been forwarded. Chief among them is the notion that Americans have forsworn marathons--which may be effectively run twice a year--for the lucrative weekly paychecks of road racing.

In the Americans’ absence, the rest of the world has taken over the marathon. No one region is superior: Eastern Europeans, Africans, Mexicans and, most recently, Chinese, have become fixtures on the distance running scene.

All of this is not lost on the organizers of the New York City Marathon, which has its 24th running today. To lure Americans back into the fold, the race has established incentives: Any American finishing in the top five in the men’s or women’s divisions will earn double the prize money offered, and an additional bonus of $100,000 will be given to an American who wins the race.

The race will have a stellar field of international runners and a sprinkling of Americans. Among the men, the favorites are a cadre of talented Mexican runners--Alejandro Cruz, who has the fastest time in the field of 2 hours 8 minutes 57 seconds, Salvador Garcia and Andres Espinosa. Africans are well represented with Lucketz Swartbooi of Namibia, the World Championship silver medalist who has finished second here twice, Lawrence Peu of South Africa and Simon Karori and Sammy Lelei of Kenya.

The leading American man here is Keith Brantly, who was fourth in the 1992 U.S. Olympic trials marathon.

The top women include Germany’s Uta Pippig and two noteworthy Americans. Kim Jones of Spokane, Wash., is a veteran at 35 and has the fastest time for an American woman at New York, 2:27:54. The unknown is Anne Marie Letko of Glen Gardner, N.J. Letko, 24, is running her first marathon after finding success at middle distances.