Magazine publishing

Hirsch spent five years at Time–Life International from 1962 to 1967 becoming assistant publisher of Life International and Life en Espanol in 1965. In 1967, he joined Clay Felker to prepare for the launch of New York magazine as the new magazine's president and publisher.^[5][6] The first issue of New York magazine was published in April 1968. In 1973, he founded New Times, which he published until it folded in 1979.

While publishing New Times, Hirsch launched The Runner magazine in 1978.^[7] In January 1987, Rodale, Inc., an Emmaus, Pennsylvania-based publisher of magazines and books, acquired The Runner and merged it with Runner’s World, where he became worldwide publisher after launching a number of international editions of the magazine. Hirsch was the first publishing director of Men's Health and director of international magazines, positions he held until his retirement from Rodale in 2004. From 2005 to 2011, he was the chairman and publisher of La Cucina Italiana, the English language edition of the Milan-based food and cooking magazine, which is the oldest such magazine in Italy.^[8]

Running

Hirsch helped Fred Lebow start the five-borough New York City Marathon in 1976 to celebrate the nation’s bicentennial.^[9] With the success of the first race, it became an annual event that has become one of the world’s leading sporting events. In 1979, Hirsch founded the Midnight Run in New York’s Central Park, a race that is held every New Year’s Eve. From 1984 to 1986, Hirsch was the on air host of a weekly segment on ESPN's SportsCenter called "The Runner’s Corner." He has done television commentary for many distance running events including the New York City, Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Cincinnati Flying Pig marathons. He has also been a commentator for three Olympic Games: the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, and the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona.

Beginning with the Boston Marathon in 1969, Hirsch has run forty marathons with a personal best of 2:38 set in Boston in 1979 at the age of 44. He ran much of that race with Joan Benoit, who went on to win the first women’s Olympic marathon in 1984. In 2009, on a promise to his wife Shay, he ran his final marathon in New York at age 75.^[10] He won his age group in each of his last eleven marathons. Hirsch became the chairman of the New York Road Runners in 2005.^[11] Each year in conjunction with the New York City Marathon, the George Hirsch Journalism Award is given to a writer who has made a significant contribution to the sport of running.^[12]

In 2014, Hirsch was the recipient of a lifetime achievement award from the Association of International Marathons and Distance Races,^[13] and in 2017 he was inducted into the Road Runners Club of America Hall of Fame.^[14] Hirsch is currently co-host of the podcast "Running—State of the Sport," with Amby Burfoot.^[15]

Congressional candidate

Hirsch was the unsuccessful Democratic candidate for Congress in Manhattan’s Upper East Side in 1986.^[16]

In 1988, he was a delegate at the Democratic National Convention. He was on the board of Salon Media Group from 2000 to 2017. In 2003, Hirsch was the recipient of the National Distance Running Hall of Fame George Sheehan Journalism Award.^[17] In 2019, he was knighted with the title of "Ufficiale dell’Ordine della Stella d’Italia" by the Republic of Italy ^[18] for his role as an ambassador of Italian culture, and was named USATF's 2019 Masters Athlete of the Year for the 85-89 age group.^[19]