Runners from near and far hit the pavement in Eisenhower Park while passing some points in Uniondale for the Jovia Financial Credit Union Long Island Marathon, drawing thousands of athletes, families, foodies and more for a celebration of endurance, community and local connection.
Festivities kicked off with a 5K Family Fun Run on May 1, followed by a 10K and 1K Kids Fun Run on May 2 and the half-marathon and marathon on May 3. Each race began, and ended, in East Meadow’s Eisenhower Park. The 26.2-mile race began and ended near Eisenhower Park’s Field 5. Runners headed west, leaving the park on Merrick Avenue, and then turned toward notable locations in Uniondale on Charles Lindbergh Boulevard, Mitchel Athletic Complex and Nassau Coliseum. The race looped back toward East Meadow, and runners then headed north and east through Salisbury, around the perimeter of Eisenhower Park, before re-entering the park.
Not only is the marathon a premier sporting event in Nassau County and an economic generator for the area, but a great source of community entertainment outside of the races. A food truck festival ran all weekend, along with a full line up of music entertainment at the Harry Chapin Lakeside Theatre in the park. The marathon, which celebrated its 53rd year, has been sponsored by Jovia Financial Credit Union for the last decade.
Over 4,000 runners participated in the weekend’s festivities.
“The Marathon Weekend brings together people from all over the globe,” race director Corey Roberts remarked of the festivities in a news release. “I cannot thank Jovia enough for continuing their support as the title sponsor of the marathon.”
Peter Purpura, vice president of business development at Jovia Financial Credit Union, explained that the race has served as a great way for the company to get to know the Long Island community. At the race, he said, Jovia gets to interact with thousands of runners, each who has a unique story to tell.
“I think our partnership with this event is really relevant,” he said at a previous race preview event. “We’ve been in the community for 85 years now, serving our members, and they trust us for a variety of financial needs. Similar to the runners, they come to us with a number of different reasons, and some of them are good, some of them are bad.
The top finishers in the men’s marathon included Scott Bickard, 37 of Bethpage; Demir Degirmenci, 24 of Forest Hills; and Raphael Archer, 28 of Port Chester. The top three finishers in the women’s marathon included Grace Garvey, 25 of New York City, Rebecca Arbitman, 17 of Roslyn; and Samathna Augeri, 43 of Rockville Centre.
Garvey spoke with the Herald at the conclusion of the race and said she didn’t realize she was as far ahead of other runners as she was. Pacers on a bicycle were guiding her towards the finish line, but still, she said, “I thought there was a really big gap between me and person that was in first.”
“I am extremely, extremely thankful,” she said, reflecting on the performance. “I was injured this past year, so I was in a lot of recovery, so to be able to come out and perform the way that I did — it was amazing.”
Garvey corssed the finish line at 3 hours, 6 minutes and 55 seconds. The half marathon followed the same path — but completed only one loop of the entire course instead of two. As runners crossed the finish line, they were cheered on by grandstands full of supporters.
Additional reporting by Tim Baker.
