Thousands run in L.I.'s biggest race

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Peter Hawkins was the first to complete the 26.2-mile Long Island Marathon on May 3. The 51-year-old Malverne resident won the wheelchair division of the race, completing it in two hours and 10 minutes. It was Hawkins’ 22nd L.I. marathon.

Thousands of runners raced across Long Island streets under beautiful sunny skies, beginning in front of the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, weaving across the Wantagh Parkway, Old Country Road, and then finishing along Carman Ave. in East Meadow into Eisenhower Park.

Oz Pearlman, of Manhattan, was the first marathon finisher at two hours and 25 minutes. The winner of the women’s division was Kelly Gillan, also of Manhattan, at three hours and three minutes.

The event is Long Island’s biggest race, and residents from all over joined together to support the runners.

The half-marathon winners in the men’s and women’s division were Ryan McGuire, of Middleburg, Penn. at one hour and nine minutes, and Jodie Robertson, of Melville, at one hour and 16 minutes, respectively.