1. 1948: NYC 50th Anniversary Marathon

In celebration of the uniting of the boroughs, the “Queens Committee for the Commemoration of the Golden Anniversary of the City of New York” (try saying that five times fast), along with the Jefferson Democratic Club sponsored a marathon that ran through Idlewild airport (now known as JFK) to the home of the 1939 World’s Fair in Flushing Meadows, Queens.