L.I. Marathon

And they're off...

Annual race draws thousands

Posted

Thousands of runners competed in the Long Island Marathon on Sunday, including dozens from Wantagh and Seaford.

Kelly Grosser, of Seaford, was the top finisher from the local area, placing 34th overall in the full marathon, a total of 26.2 miles. Her time of 3 hours, 18 minutes and 40 seconds was a personal best by 14 minutes.

“I’m very pleased,” she said, adding that she met her goal in finishing under three-and-a-half hours. “It was very hot, but I liked it. There wasn’t that many turns.”

Michael Fred, 50, of Wantagh, ran along with his wife, Maria. Fred finished in 4 hours and 13 minutes, about 45 minutes better than his time last year, but off his goal of under 4 hours.

Both Fred and Grosser agreed that the weather was not ideal for a marathon, as the sun was shining bright and temperatures were in the high 70s. Most runners prefer cloud cover and cooler air. Fred said he did a marathon in New Jersey the weekend before, and it was 10 degrees cooler then.

This was his second time running in the Long Island Marathon. The full marathon started on Charles Lindbergh Boulevard in Uniondale and finished at Eisenhower Park. In between, runners traveled down many roads through the middle of the county. Fred particularly enjoyed running along the Wantagh Parkway in Wantagh, and enjoying the beauty of the Twin Lakes.

“I grew up here and this is my hometown,” he said. “The idea of running on the Wantagh Parkway when there are no cars is amazing.”

A chef at a hotel in Manhattan, Fred said he got into running to start leading a healthier lifestyle. He is a member of the Greater Long Island Running Club, New York Road Runners, and Marathon Maniacs. He has seven more marathons scheduled for this year, including one in Hawaii.

Preparing for a marathon, he said, means running long and short distances, and at different speeds. He likes the trail that runs alongside the Wantagh and Ocean Parkways for practice runs.

So does Grosser, who is often up at 4:30 a.m. to go running with a friend. When they aren’t on the trail, they run through the neighborhoods.

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