Peter Ciaccia, NYRR’s president, events and TCS New York City Marathon race director, has been a key player at NYRR for 18 years. He has been instrumental in the redesign and production of NYRR’s events with a focus on raising the logistical integrity, increasing entertainment, and developing new approaches to enhance the overall race-week experience. During his tenure, the number of race finishers has grown 40%, including such events as the United Airlines NYC Half, the Popular Brooklyn Half, and the TCS New York City Marathon, which has become the most popular and largest marathon in the world.

As race director, Ciaccia has been responsible for the recruitment of all professional athletes in NYRR’s major races, and has been actively directing a Run Clean educational initiative to address the issues of doping in the sport. Under Ciaccia’s leadership, NYRR’s impact in each of the city’s boroughs has deepened with the development of NYRR Open Run, a program that offers free weekly community-based runs and walks, and he is responsible for piloting NYRR’s first-ever Youth Wheelchair Training Program, which has garnered resounding support from the professional wheelchair racing community and the Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities. It has been nearly guaranteed that at most NYRR races during his tenure, you will have seen Ciaccia at the finish line, greeting and thanking all the runners—from the first to the final finisher.