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Long Island Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Long Island Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 3.0 
Organization 3.5 
Spectators 2.6
Number of comments: 145 [displaying comments 131 to 141]
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A Runner from Long Island, NY
(5/8/2002)
 "Has potential, but needs to grow up." (General Comments)
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 2 First things first: while the course is a pretty lousy choice given the resources of all of Long Island, it could be much worse. Yes, it's primarily a three-lane, concrete highway for about 70% of the race and there's practically no shade, but the edges of the road are mostly forested, and actually quite nice to look at. And since most of the race is along a straight highway, the course is *very* fast, and there are practically no hills to speak of. Spectators all but vanish after the race hits the highways at mile 5, with one small but enthusiastic pocket near the overpass at mile 10/23. It's not their fault, of course, because the course is very difficult for spectators to access. The organization doesn't seem to be improving over the years. Water stops, especially along the back half of the course, are sporadic, and I only saw one table along the whole course that offered sports drinks. (There was also someone handing out full 16 oz. bottles of some soda company's cheap sports drink at mile 15, but that meant we had to twist off the top, drink from a tiny soda bottle-sized opening while running, and decide whether to throw the whole bottle away after two sips or to carry a big soda bottle for the next several miles.) Given the exposure of the course, lots of water is crucial, and because the course winds back on itself, it shouldn't be that difficult to have water every mile. Post-race food was pretty feeble, consisting solely of bagels (no spreads), drinkable yogurt, and vanilla pudding, and a bit of fruit. Part of the problem seems to stem from the weak turnout for the full marathon-- some 6,000 runners went off, but less than 10% of them opted to run the full marathon instead of the half. With less than 600 runners, no wonder the second half of the race gets neglected. I can only guess that people are turned off by the course, what with the opportunity to run other, more interesting marathons in Queens and Brooklyn around the same time of year. Serious thought needs to be given to remapping the course to take in the beaches and bays of the island. It's a great bargain for the money, though. Goodies include a t-shirt and Tyvek wind jacket, all for a $25 entry fee, one of the cheapest I've ever seen. It's not a terrible race, and it actually offers something for runners who want a big marathon (6,000 people in the front half), and those who want a more quiet one (running the back half is often like running alone). | |
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A Runner from New Jersey
(5/6/2002)
 "Nice Race - Worth the Money - I Enjoyed It" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 This was my 58th marathon or ultra, and after reading all of the negative comments about the Long Island Marathon, I almost did not bother to sign up for it. Now that I have finally run this race, the only thing that I found that was not acceptable was the lack of race day packet pickup. Otherwise, the race was quite well organized. I received a nice T-shirt, windbreaker & finishers medal. There were more than enough water stations staffed by well trained, enthusiastic volunteers. The course was flat, wide & traffic free; certainly good for a PR. There was plenty of post-race food available (bagels, apples, yogurt, pudding, etc.). This was all quite a bargain, for the early registration fee of only $22. Most of the runners only ran the half-marathon (almost 4000). Less than 600 completed the full marathon, making for an uncongested course for the last 14 miles. Yes, there were no hills, crowds or memorable scenery and the temperature was in the 70's. So what? If these factors are important to someone, then they should go elsewhere. My one complaint about lack of race day packet pickup was resolved, by having a friend who lived close by, pick up my bib. I had an enjoyable day, I would recommend this race to others and I would consider coming back to run in it again. | |
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A Runner from NEW YORK CITY
(5/1/2002)
 "Get Busy." (General Comments)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 When will they have this race well organized. Why don't thy have same day registration? They make everyone drive there just to pick up their number and then have to drive back for the race. How about some music along the course? After all, there are very few pople cheering you on. Too bad because this could be a great marathon. See you on Sunday. LOL | |
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A Runner from Huntington, Long Island
(5/11/2001)
"A great training run" (about: 2001)
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 5 I find it hard to call it a marathon. It was a great training run on a flat, traffic free course, a perfect tune-up for a marathon. My comments: Registration procedures were way too rigid with little consideration to international entrants. The course was a really poor choice, as if the organizers were looking for the easiest way out, trying to get over it asap. LIM could have been a great running and cultural experience, but there was no effort made in that direction. The volunteers and the few spectators along the course did a great job. There was not enough water between miles 15 and 19 and the lack of food at the finish really hurt my feelings. | |
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A Runner from Lynbrook, New York
(5/1/2001)
"Scenery, Spectators,Organization-Three thumbs down" (about: 2000)
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 Isn't there anywhere else on LI to have a marathon besides the parkway? No wonder the only spectators are in Eisenhower Park. | |
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A Runner from Levittown,NY
(5/1/2001)
 "A good race to practice mind control" (General Comments)
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 1 This race should be run in a more topographically challenging part of the island. It is much too flat. However, it's too bad it won't be around much longer. | |
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A Runner from Brooklyn NY
(4/29/2001)
"Course nearly as flat as spectators" (General Comments)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 Flat course - nice on the legs - good bunch of neighbors cheering the first 5 miles - desolate loneliness thereafter. I ran the past two years - 00' was wicked hot!!! Needs more waterstops between 19 and 26. Easy to enter - no lottery! Good venue for first timer or LI native. Worth the fee? To be continued...running next weekend. | |
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slow runner from LI from Babylon
(3/15/2001)
"Why Bellmore?" (about: 1998)
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 Why do we run through some of the most unappealing parts of Long Island? Any out-of-towner will think all of LI is Levittown. | |
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A Runner from Long Island, NY
(5/26/2000)
"LI is beautiful. This course is not." (about: 2000)
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 There are many beautiful areas on LI. The south shore beaches. The North Fork. The Hamptons. The 'Heritage Trail/Gold Coast'. So why does this race start with 5 miles on commercial surface streets and then proceed to 18 miles of looping and re-looping the Wantagh State Parkway? For virtually the entire race we were less than 10 miles from the Robert Moses Ocean Pkwy, which is a gorgeous 15+ mile-long Pkwy along the beautiful south shore beaches of LI with ample parking at Jones Beach. It would have been nice if we had gotten within a whiff of salt air. Other quibbles with organization: pretty lousy goody bag, no website, 2 phone calls placed in late '99 to the phone number listed in RW went unreturned, only food offered after finish was bagels (sunbaked for many hours). On the very much plus side...Fantastic volunteers who braved many hours in the same hot sun we fools were running in and remained pleasant and supportive. The race: Brutal brutal heat. My first marathon. Had it not been my first, I would have bailed out and run the half. As it was, I missed my 4 hour goal by 90 minutes and still considered it an achievement. Perhaps because of my 5:30 finish time, I was handed half a cup of lukewarm water at the finish, foraged and found aforementioned extra-crusty bagels and nothing else. I wandered around for about 20 minutes looking for fruit or yogurt and saw a guy wearing a medal. I thought he had won a division or something so I congratulated him. He looked at me kind of funny and it dawned on me that it was nothing more than a finisher's medal...which I had not received. I wandered back to the finish line and found the medal person who gave me my medal (with raised eyebrow...'Are you SURE you finished the race? I don't see how we would have missed you'). Anyway, I don't want to seem churlish, and it was my first marathon so I have no other marathons to compare it with, but I have participated in several 10Ks, a 15K, and a half-marathon that had a lot more charm and better organization and certainly a better course. I am a proud Long Islander and that's why I chose this for my first marathon. After the race I couldn't help thinking, we're a metropolitan area with nearly 2 million adults and THIS is the best marathon we can offer? | |
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: Jim Murray from Holtsville, New York
(5/12/2000)
 "A well organized event but mother nature won out." (about: 2000)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 After months of anticipation and proper training, the big day finally arrived. My only request from the man up above was a moderately cool day with a little less wind. It was only 2 weeks prior that I was running in tights in 45 degree weather with a 20 mph headwind. Well the big day finally arrived whereby it was 90 degrees with no breeze and 75% humidity. Sweating at the start from the heat, the gun went off and out we went. The first 5 miles were warm but from my standpoint, smooth as can be. Then, and almost without warning, we entered the infamous Wantagh Parkway which was reminiscent of my days spent in Manila;hazy, hot, and humid. My game plan went out the window and you might say that mother nature showed me the wall early on. The sporting folks were dropping by the dozens and everyone of them had that familiar look of dismay in their eyes. Out of 6500 registered, there were 1900 no shows. Out of that, 4100 did the half-marathon and about 400 completed the grueling 26.2. At the 10 mile mark, I too, had decided that it was either a trip the hospital for heat exhaustion or a respectable finish in the half-marathon. Not being the quitting type, I opted for the 13.1 mile event and finished in one piece. My hats off to Finish Line Road Race Technicians for a job well done and even more amazing, laudest regards to a person I have yet to meet but have great respect for and that is Triathlete Donna McMahon who defied the heat and won the women's marathon in an outstanding 3:05 in a race where only 4 people went under 3:00. Sometimes you have to hand it to mother nature. |
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