By Josh Williams
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN — New York Road Runners will be swapping out their sneakers for dress shoes and high heels for their 30th annual Club Night awards event Thursday night.
The party to honor the city's top runners from last year will be at the Hard Rock Café in Times Square. A new award will also be given out to honor the Runner of the Decade.
"The popularity of NYRR’s races exploded over the course of the last decade, and we now find that running and racing in New York City is as competitive as it’s ever been, with New York now home to some athletes of truly world class ability," said Sam Grotewold, NYRR's professional athlete manager, in a statement.
"It was important to recognize the athletes we felt were the most responsible for making New York such a great place for a serious athlete to train and race."
The awards are broken down by age and gender.
Manhattanite Megan Guiney, who runs for the New York Athletic Club and has run in the ING New York City Marathon, is nominated for an award in the 25-29 age group. Her fellow New Yorker, a short distance specialist, Abiyot Endale is up in the men's 20-24 category. He finished in the top 10 in seven races in 2009.
The Fred Lebow Runner of the Year Award is also up for grabs. That award goes to the male and female runner who have demonstrated superiority over a variety of distances.
