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Overcast Running in THE marathon
Five Towners raise money for charity to secure spot in race
Cary Epstein and Jay Greenbaum have been preparing for the big one. The Hewlett residents have participated in triathlons and other races in the past, but both said those are meaningless compared with their next race: the ING New York City Marathon on Sunday.
“You haven’t really run a marathon until you run New York,” Greenbaum said. “People come from all over the world to run the New York City Marathon. How can I not run it?”
Epstein and Greenbaum met six years ago when Greenbaum’s daughter was a member of Hewlett High School’s swim team, which is coached by Epstein. The duo will start the marathon together. “It’s the excitement of Manhattan and the city — there’s something about it,” said Epstein, 29, who is also a health teacher at Hewlett High and a longtime Jones Beach lifeguard. “I have an adrenaline pump watching these races. It’s supposed to be the greatest marathon in the world.”
The event draws more than 100,000 applicants each year, according to its Web site. More than $600,000 in prize money is up for grabs, but most of the participants are more interested in competing in front of nearly 2 million spectators and an estimated 300 million television viewers worldwide. The 26.2-mile race route goes through all five boroughs and crosses three bridges.
It is also an opportunity for participants to raise money for charity, which was Epstein’s and Greenbaum’s ticket to the race. Epstein had previously applied for an entry three years in a row, but never made the cut. “I don’t particularly enjoy running marathons, but being a New Yorker and having gone there a million times, something has attracted me to the race to make me want to do it,” he said. “I’ve raised close to $3,000 for Team for Kids.”
Team for Kids is made up of more than 5,000 adult runners who raise funds for the New York Runners Foundation’s youth fitness programs. “It’s a charity organization that keeps kids off the streets and gets them into running by getting them shoes, and ropes them into the sport of running,” Epstein said.
Greenbaum is running for two organizations: Reconstructionist Congregation Beth Emeth in Hewlett and Reach Granada, a group that provides resources for children in that island country.
