Mary Wittenberg

Mary Wittenberg ( Robertson; born July 17, 1962) is an American sports executive who formerly served as president of professional women's soccer club NJ/NY Gotham FC.

A former competitive runner, Wittenberg won the 1987 Marine Corps Marathon.

She participates in many NYRR races.

Wittenberg was born in Buffalo, New York, and raised in a large and athletic Irish Catholic family.

She was the oldest of seven children, and played softball, baseball and basketball—sports that her father coached.

In high school, she focused on cheerleading, and also starred on a champion West Side Rowing Club team.

Wittenberg went on to attend Canisius College, and was a coxswain for the men's crew team that won a championship for small colleges.

During her senior year in College, Wittenberg took up running.

She won a few local races and trained with Canisius' men's cross country team.

Wittenberg also trained with the men's cross country team while attending law school at University of Notre Dame.

In 1987, she won the Marine Corps Marathon in a time of 2:44:34.

Wittenberg used a late surge to overtake the leaders in the second half of the race.

Wittenberg's strong performance at the Marine Corps Marathon qualified her for the 1988 Olympic marathon trials.

However, she soon required surgery for a knee injury, and a back ailment forced her to drop out of the qualifying race.

Wittenberg ran in only two more marathons due to injuries and a focus on her law career.

In the early 1990s, Wittenberg worked as an attorney who specialized in international trade deals for U.S. banks.

In 1994, her firm transferred her to New York City.

It was there that she was made a partner for her law firm.

However, in 1998 Wittenberg opted for a career change, as she wanted to devote time to start a family.

Despite taking a significant pay cut, Wittenberg began work for New York Road Runners as Vice President and Chief Operating Officer.

Her initial responsibilities ranged from overseeing NYRR publications to administering membership and race scoring.

She helped secure the deal that made ING a title sponsor for the race.

In 2005, Wittenberg was named President and Chief Executive of NYRR, and became the first female director of a major international marathon.

NYRR administers the TCS New York City Marathon.

Under Wittenberg's leadership, a significant change was made for women marathoners to receive more prize money than their male counterparts.

NYRR's budget has increased significantly, as has the viewership for the TCS New York City Marathon.

NYRR and Wittenberg also administered the 2008 U.S. Men's Marathon Olympic Trials.

During this event, former collegiate star Ryan Shay suffered a heart attack and died while competing in the race.

Wittenberg's sensitive handling of the tragic news at the post-race press conference was cited as an example of her "class and compassion".

While CEO of NYRR, Wittenberg spearheaded innovative programs to increase running's popularity as a spectator sport.

The NYRR has partnered with five other major marathons (London, Boston, Berlin, Chicago and Tokyo) to create the World Marathon Majors Series.

Runners compete in these races to earn a cumulative standing, similar to NASCAR's Sprint Cup.

NYRR also provides financial support for the USA Distance Project, which is composed of training groups throughout the country for post-collegiate distance runners.

She was previously the president of the cycling team, and president and chief executive officer of New York Road Runners (NYRR) through May 18, 2015.

Wittenberg oversaw the TCS New York City Marathon and several other races, events, and programs that draw over 300,000 yearly participants.

Under Wittenberg's leadership, NYRR helped develop new initiatives such as the World Marathon Majors Series and several community programs that have introduced running to underprivileged children.

For her efforts related to the TCS New York City Marathon, an article in the New York Times stated that Wittenberg "has transformed the New York City Marathon from traditional to competitive to innovative."

While training with this group, she finished 16th at the Chicago Marathon with a time of 2:46.

After law school, Wittenberg moved to Richmond, Virginia to work for the Hunton & Williams law firm.

She would spend busy days working in the office, marathon training with the University of Richmond cross country team, and studying to pass the bar.