Mel Levinson
Mel did not take up long distance running until he was 37 but in spite of his late start, the Fairport man has become a top competitor in the Masters Division. Competing in that division, he won the Labor Day Marathon in both 1981 and 1983 and has also captured two second place finishes and a third in that event. In the 1983 race he finished fourth overall.
Other first place Masters finishes occurred in the 1982 Shamrock Run, the 1984 Penn State Marathon, and the 1983 Trom Town Half Marathon in DeRuyter, N.Y. In that race he finished eighth overall. Levinson also took a first place in the Senior Division of the Bruegger Bagel 5K run in 1990. He has also competed in six Boston Marathons with his top time, 2 hours, 39 minutes and 12 seconds, in 1983. He was among the top 50 Masters Division finishers in that race.
During a four week span of time in 1981, Levinson ran the Boston Marathon in 2 hours and 40 minutes, finishing 45th in the Masters Division; competed in the Ottawa Marathon, running the course in 2 hours and 41 minutes, finishing third in the Masters Division; and ran the Lilac 10K in 34 minutes and 20 seconds to gain top honors in the Masters Division.