The return of the Pete McArdle cross-country race celebrates a legendary distance runner whose Olympic achievements and remarkable comeback in Bergen County left a lasting mark on the sport.
After a seven-year absence, the Pete McArdle 9-Mile Cross-Country Race is returning to Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx on Saturday, November 28, 2026. The historic event honors the late Irish-born Olympic marathoner and longtime Teaneck resident, whose extraordinary career included 16 U.S. national championships and two Ridgewood Run age-group records that still stand today.
The Van Cortlandt Track Club (VCTC) is reviving the Pete McArdle 9-Mile Cross-Country Race, an event with roots dating to 1958. Previously organized by New York Road Runners (NYRR), the race was last held in 2019.
For Bergen County runners, McArdle’s name carries particular significance. He represented the United States at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, won 16 American national championships, and later became a familiar presence at local road races. Two of his age-group records at the Ridgewood Memorial Day Run still stand today.
The November 28 event offers North Jersey runners an opportunity to compete on one of the country’s historic cross-country courses while honoring an athlete whose accomplishments extended from international competition to Bergen County’s local running community.
From Ireland to the Olympics: Pete McArdle’s Remarkable Career
Born in Blackrock, Ireland, in 1929, Peter Joseph McArdle was already an accomplished distance runner when he emigrated to the United States, settling in New York City in 1956.
Between 1951 and 1956, he won 12 Irish national titles at distances ranging from one to six miles. After settling in New York City, his success continued on the track, roads, and cross-country courses.
McArdle won 16 U.S. national AAU championships and five consecutive Metropolitan AAU six-mile cross-country titles. At the 1963 Pan American Games in São Paulo, Brazil, he captured the gold medal in the 10,000 meters and bronze in the marathon.
The following year, he represented the United States in the marathon at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, finishing 23rd.
Following the Olympics, McArdle retired from competitive running. Nearly two decades later, he made a remarkable comeback. By the early 1980s, he was in his 50s and once again turning heads at road races throughout Bergen County and the surrounding area. Competing against runners decades younger, McArdle frequently finished near the front of the field while dominating his age group.
“All-Time Greatest Runner in NYRR History”
Gary Corbitt, a longtime competitive runner and respected historian of New York distance running, grew up watching some of the sport’s greatest athletes compete, including Pete McArdle. His father, Ted Corbitt, was an Olympic marathoner, co-founder of New York Road Runners, and a legendary figure widely known as the Father of American Long-Distance Running.
Corbitt considers McArdle the greatest runner in NYRR history.
“Simply stated I rate Pete as the all-time greatest runner in NYRR History,” Corbitt said. “His winning 16 National United States Championships fully backs this statement.”
“His range of dominance (2 Miles to Marathon) was special,” he added.
According to Corbitt, McArdle was undefeated against New York runners on the track, roads, and cross-country courses during a four-year period from 1959 through 1963.
The Origins of the Pete McArdle Race in Van Cortland Park
The race being revived this November dates to 1958, when Ted Corbitt organized a nine-mile cross-country event at Van Cortlandt Park. Just 14 runners started the inaugural race, with McArdle winning in 49 minutes, 18 seconds.
McArdle returned to win the next three editions, from 1959 through 1961.
At the time, organized distance running in New York was still a relatively small sport. The club that became New York Road Runners was just getting started, and the runners who gathered at Van Cortlandt Park were helping establish a competitive racing calendar and laying the foundation for the New York City Marathon and modern road racing in the Unites States.
Historic Duel at Van Cortland Park
One race in particular has stayed with Corbitt for more than six decades.
“The greatest cross-county race I ever witnessed was the 1963 U.S. National Championship at Van Cortlandt Park where Pete lost to Bruce Kidd by 0.4 seconds about 3 yards,” Corbitt recalled.
He considers the exceptionally close finish one of his favorite childhood sporting memories, comparable to memorable New York Yankees World Series moments.
Today, Corbitt continues to preserve the history of American distance running through the Ted Corbitt Archives and the Theodore Corbitt Institute for Running History Research. His work includes documenting the accomplishments of pioneering athletes and developing an extensive Black Running History Timeline. He has also encouraged and supported the Van Cortlandt Track Club’s efforts to restore the McArdle race.
From Olympic Competition to a New Life in Teaneck
The McArdle family moved to Teaneck in 1969, five years after Pete represented the United States at the Tokyo Olympics.
His daughter Maeve Vinci, who now lives in Bogota with her husband Joe and son Joseph, remembers that her father initially kept his return to competition quiet.
“When he returned to running, he didn’t tell us what he was doing. The way we found out was when he came home with an award for his age group.”
Still working in New York City, McArdle continued doing much of his training at Van Cortlandt Park but also began running regularly through Teaneck and Bogota.
He became part of Bergen County’s local running community, training and competing with fellow Teaneck runners Pablo Rivera and Hap Moran. Vinci recalls that Rivera initially worried the older McArdle might slow him down, only to discover that the former Olympian could easily outrun him.
The three became regular running companions, competing in road races throughout Bergen County and beyond. McArdle’s daughter Maryjean, herself a runner, also joined him at local races during the 1980s.
Ridgewood Memorial Day Run Records Still Stand
McArdle’s return to competitive running produced remarkable performances, including two age-group records at the Ridgewood Memorial Day Run that remain on the event’s official record lists today.
According to the North Jersey Masters Running Club, McArdle still holds the men’s 55–59 age-group records in both the 5K and 10K:
- 5K: 17 minutes, 14.3 seconds
- 10K: 33 minutes, 44.9 seconds
More than four decades after his death, McArdle’s name remains in the records of one of Bergen County’s best-known running events.
A Family’s Memories of Van Cortlandt Park
Van Cortlandt Park held a special place in McArdle’s life, both as an athlete and as a father.
Vinci remembers spending much of her childhood there, accompanying her father to workouts and watching him train.
“He would have me sit in the stands and my job was to ‘watch his bag’. Mind you I was 3 and 4 years old and he’s running miles around the track and I’m just sitting there.”
The park was also a place for family outings, and her parents held their wedding reception at the former Riverdale Inn across from the cross-country course.
The Pete McArdle Memorial Finish Line
On June 24, 1985, McArdle suffered a fatal heart attack while training at Van Cortlandt Park. He was 56 years old.
Shortly after his death, runners from New York and New Jersey joined McArdle’s family and friends for the dedication of a memorial finish line plaque at the spot where he died. The plaque remains a familiar landmark at Van Cortlandt Park, marking a finish line used for many races.
Later that year, the longtime cross-country race was renamed the Pete McArdle Cross Country Classic in his memory.
McArdle Family Tradition
The event became an important McArdle family tradition, bringing relatives from Ireland and England to New York over the years, with family members both competing and cheering on runners.
For Vinci, the race’s return is bittersweet. Her mother, Barbara, and sister Maryjean, both of whom have since passed away, were familiar faces at the event over the years.
“I am so thrilled that the race is back, but at the same time it’s very bittersweet since my Mom and Maryjean aren’t here to be a part of it,” she said.
Her son Joseph, born nearly four years after McArdle’s death, grew up attending the race and hearing stories about his grandfather from runners who had known him.
Joseph later competed in high school track, including at the Armory in Manhattan, where his grandfather had once raced. He continues the family’s local running tradition by participates in Bergen County races, including the Ridgewood Memorial Day Run and the Bogota 5K one-mile events.
Why the Van Cortlandt Track Club Is Bringing Back the McArdle Run
For decades, the Pete McArdle race was a fixture on the New York Road Runners calendar.
Originally held over Thanksgiving weekend as a nine-mile cross-country event, the race later changed to 15K and moved to early December.
NYRR last organized the race in 2019. Although VCTC members continued running the course informally, the event disappeared from the annual race calendar.
Stephany Evans, VCTC race director, described what the loss meant to the local running community.
“The demise of the Pete McArdle race was a big loss to the Van Cortlandt Track Club and to the larger running community, not just because it was a challenging, iconic race in Van Cortlandt Park, but because it honored the legacy of one of the greatest distance runners of all times.”
For club members, races named in honor of notable athletes help keep their achievements familiar to newer generations of runners.
“We think it is critical to remember the runner after whom this race is named—and to give other runners an opportunity to learn about his contribution to running,” said VCTC co-race director Bette Clark.
A Thanksgiving Weekend Tradition Returns
The club has chosen to restore the event’s original nine-mile distance and traditional Thanksgiving weekend date.
Longtime VCTC members remember past editions held in cold rain, with runners navigating muddy trails and ankle-deep water.
VCTC coach Ken Rolston also recalls a favorite post-race tradition, when runners gathered at a nearby club member’s apartment across Broadway for steaming bowls of pasta e fagioli and conversation about the day’s race.
The November 28 event will include a post-race gathering at the nearby Tortoise & Hare Pub, located just across Broadway from the finish line.
A Historic Cross-Country Running Experience
Van Cortlandt Park is located in the northwest Bronx, a relatively short drive from Bergen County, and is accessible via the George Washington Bridge or, depending on their starting point, the Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge.
The November 28 race will cover three loops of the park’s historic and challenging cross-country course, taking participants through wooded hills and flatter sections.
Organizers will provide commemorative running neck gaiters to the first 100 registrants, along with prizes from the legendary Lloyd’s Carrot Cake, a beloved Bronx bakery. Located just across from Van Cortlandt Park, Lloyd’s has been a neighborhood institution since 1986.
For North Jersey runners looking for a challenging late-fall race, the revived Pete McArdle event offers an opportunity to compete on a historic course while honoring a Teaneck Olympian whose accomplishments remain part of local running history.
Pete McArdle 9-Mile XC Trail Race: Event Details
Date: Saturday, November 28, 2026
Start Time: 9:00 am, rain or shine
Registration, Bib Pickup and Baggage Check: Opens at 8:00 am
Location: Van Cortlandt Park, Bronx, New York
Meeting Point: Tortoise and Hare Statue, across from 6115 Broadway
Distance: Nine miles, featuring three loops of Van Cortlandt Park’s cross-country course
Organizer: Van Cortlandt Track Club
Registration: Register for the Pete McArdle 9-Mile XC Trail Race
Parking near the park can be limited. Organizers suggest checking parking availability near the Van Cortlandt Golf Course or stables. The park is also accessible via the No. 1 subway to 242nd Street.
For complete registration information and race updates, visit the official event website.
