Thursday, October 1, 2026
Volunteer firefighter Joshua LaBar is lacing up his running shoes — not for an emergency, but for a cause. The Rockville Centre resident is preparing to run the 2025 TCI New York City Marathon on Nov. 2, representing Wheeling Forward, a New York based nonprofit that helps people with disabilities live more active, independent lives.
LaBar said he was excited about being part of the largest marathon in the country.
“I’m looking forward to, I think, just sinking into the race, enjoying the crowd, the New York City crowd,” he said, “because I hear that that’s like nothing else, one of the most fun races to race in the country, if not the world, with the New York City crowd behind you, cheering you on for the whole 26 miles.”
LaBar, 32 a physical therapist and a runner for the past four years, began training for the race around six months ago. In the beginning, he focused on building up his mileage, eventually to 30 to 40 miles a week. He finished a 22-mile run in recent months, and in addition to his regular mileage, plans to do one more long run, a 20-miler, shortly before the marathon.
Joshua’s wife, Ali, got him into running. “She was a runner in high school, and then she kind of introduced it to me,” he said. “So we started running together a little bit here and there, and then I started running a little bit longer distance, and she and I would enter half-marathons together. And that was kind of our bonding time, our exercise time together.”
Ali said she was proud to see their shared passion take on new meaning. “When he was interested in running in New York City, raising money for a charity, we were kind of thinking about something that connected to what he loves, which is athletics and movement, being a physical therapist,” she said. “I’m really proud of him.”
LaBar is a therapist at Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation Services, a.k.a. STARS, in East Meadow. Wheeling Forward’s mission, he said, aligns with the values he brings to his job.
“We help people get better, feel better, try to be as active as possible and live life to the fullest,” he said. “So this is kind of a perfect charity to represent as a physical therapist.”
Although this is his first New York City Marathon, LaBar is not new to the distance.
He ran the 2023 Philadelphia Marathon finishing in Three hours, 52 minutes and 52 seconds with a longtime friend from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Zach Elmer, who lives in Tennessee. Elmer will once again run alongside LaBar in New York, having snagged a spot through the lottery system. They hope to finish in three hours and 45 minutes.
Originally from Bangor Pennsylvania, LaBar moved to Rockville Centre, where Ali grew up, around six years ago. October marks his one-year anniversary as a village volunteer firefighter, though that journey started in his hometown, where he followed the example of his father, who volunteered for around 20 years.
“It’s a really good place to be,” LaBar said of firefighting, “A lot of great people — a lot of really passionate, selfless people.”
LaBar found out about Wheeling Forward from a STARS colleague. The nonprofit assists recently disabled people who lack support systems and resources to obtain needed services. As they adapt to life with a disability, Wheeling Forward helps them navigate the health and social service systems.
LaBar has raised over $3,000 for Wheeling Forward so far, and his goal is $4,000.
“I hope to achieve the required donation ($3,00-$3,500) for the charity,” he said. “And fulfilling that, I think, is the most important part of the whole thing.”
To learn more about LaBar’s run for charity or to donate, visit Charity.PledgeIt.org/WF-nyc-marathon-2025/@joshua.
