Meet the LetsRun Team for Worlds (The Winners of our USAs Prediction Contest)
By Weldon JohnsonWe’re proud to announce the LetsRun.com Team for the World Championships, the three winners of the LetsRun.com USAs Prediction Contest. (Be sure to enter our $200,023 Worlds Prediction contest).
We had a 3-way tie for first which is good, as all that really matters is booking your ticket for Hungary. The top 3 also all won LetsRun.com Supporters Club memberships (If you want daily podcasts recapping the action from Worlds, join the Supporters Club today).
One of our winners is a name that may be familiar to you and that is Gary Corbitt. Gary, 72, from Jacksonville, Florida, comes from running royalty as his dad Ted Corbitt is a running legend. Called the “father of American distance running” by some, he was a 1952 Olympian in the marathon, the first president of the New York Road Runners, an ultra marathon pioneer and champion, a running course measurement pioneer, first suggested that they run a five-borough NYC marathon, and to top it all off ran 303 Miles in a six-day race at the age of 83. That 6-mile loop in Central Park that is probably the most run 6-mile loop in the world? That is named the Ted Corbitt loop. To top it all off Ted Corbitt was African American and did a lot of this when racial discrimination was legal in America. A true pioneer in the sport.
Gary Coribtt
Gary had a career in television research (analyzed Nielsen ratings) and in his retirement has transformed himself into a running historian. He writes, “I’ve encouraged all aspects of our sport to do a better job of preserving track and field and long-distance running history. My primary areas of interest center on events before 1970 with a focus of my late father Ted Corbitt www.tedcorbitt.com, New York Pioneer Club (NYPC) and early women running pioneers. I’ve also produced groundbreaking work on African American middle- and long-distance running history that I’m proud of.”
Gary is a LetsRun lifer and on his picking strategy said, “I don’t keep up with the latest names (Tinch & McGorty), but I do my homework reading over your pre-event analysis, predictions, and polls. I also peak at T&FN form chart. Congratulations on your years of success with the site. It’s where I go first for news about our sport.”
Jesse in Berlin
Jesse Fajnzylber and Brent Radeke don’t come from running royalty but they now are a part of it by finishing in the top 3 in our contest.
Fajnzylber is 28 and in his 4th year of medical school. He ran the 800/1500 at Amherst College and was captain of the cross country team. He now runs for the Tracksmith team and transitioning to the marathon. He made his marathon debut in Berlin in 2021 and ran Boston this past spring. Next up is CIM with some of his college teammates.
Radeke, 39, is a self-described “casual runner” in the Bay area, who enjoys trail running and marathons. He’s chasing that elusive Boston Qualifier. He was already a Supporters Club member so we’re extending his membership a year.
Thanks to everyone who participated in our contest. And a reminder our $200,023 Worlds contest is going on right now and playing makes the World Championships even more interesting.
And our apologies for not acknowledging our winners earlier. We were worried one of them might be wanting to train through to Paris, and couldn’t track them down, but it turned out to be an email spam filter issue.
