This story originally appeared in the November 2012 issue.

B y all accounts, it was a perfect day to go for a run.

On the first Sunday morning in October 1972, Central Park was bathed in early fall sunshine, the crisp 50-degree air giving the changing leaves on the sugar maples and Sawtooth oaks near Tavern on the Green a bit of a sheen as the third New York City Marathon was scheduled to go off. It doesn’t feel right using an uppercase M with this marathon. At the time, the race was decidedly small-scale. Only 278 runners had signed up (for this year’s race on November 4, some 47,000 have entered), they paid just $1 to get in (instead of today’s $255), and the entire 26.2-mile race took place within the confines of the park, whereas today’s marathon stretches over five boroughs and requires the space of Central Park just to stage the start.…