Now most people know the Long Island Marathon is probably one of the most boring courses around. And it is. Most of the Long Island Marathon festival is geared toward the Half-Marathon and 10-K races. But the value of the marathon for your fee is great. In this day and age when the NYC changes you at minimum $250, in LI I was able to register a week before the race and pay only $67 plus the active fee of $5.25, for a total of $72.25.

For this I received a beautiful long sleeved hooded and thumbed hole runners shirt, 1 pair of new balance runners socks. After finishing I received a stylish 26.2 finisher's medal along with a attractive blue finisher's hoodie. There was also the finishers bag filled with treats and finishers festival with music, sponsors table and of course the Beer Garden (no limit). Now in this day with the ever increasing race fees this race was a wonderful surprise.
For you runners who do not look for value (or just like to complain) the rest of the experience may not be up to your standard.

Course: The course is scenic for the first 10 miles when the full and half marathoners run together. From mile 10 to mile 23 the full runners are basically alone on a closed highway. This aspect is very mentally changeling for the runners, it is hard to stay focused and maintain your pace. No shade from the sun or any protection from any other elements (the benefit of registering late is checking the weather). There were plenty of water and Gatorade stops with some having gels in the second half. The volunteers on the course especially on the highway were great, energetic and helpful. You can call out what you need as you get close and they deliver it to you without you breaking stride. The last 5 k winds through the main road back to the park (through the golf course) to the finish area. The crowd supports while thin on the highway were energetic

Security was tighter this year due to Boston but in no way effected your enjoyment of this race.
Parking is easy just arrive about 1 hour before the race.

The officials do an excellent job of making this an enjoyable event.

Having run this race 8 times, while dreading the course the atmosphere never disappoints me.

I actually loved the course. Nice straightaways on the highway without turns slowing you down. People say boring, but I wasn't there for entertainment while I ran. I was on a mission and all I needed was my watch for entertainment. If you need crowds to finish, pick a different race. If you want a PR, this is a great pick....IF the weather holds up. Extremely risky race if weather turns out hot. (I had cool day) Those highway miles could be brutal in the heat. Plenty of water stops, so I had plenty to drink. Only complaint was that someone should be directing the 10K/Half walkers to stay all the way to the side. Sometimes you had people taking a Sunday stroll in the middle of the road.

The course is psychologically challenging, for sure, with its long stretches of highway and lack of scenery. I ran it b/c my team needed 3 competitors and I enjoyed competing in it. However, I was disappointed with the after party and the lack of award presentations, raffles, fun stuff like that etc. Coming through the finish felt more like going through an assembly line than a celebration of a major athletic accomplishment. The local running clubs weren't allowed to pitch tents in the main party area, so if you wanted to hang out with your friends, you had to be away from the music & refreshments. And the county official who's responsible for the whole thing has his name plastered all over every piece of LI Marathon paraphernalia, even the medals. Even on my age group award, this politician's name was bigger than mine! Egads. I'll do it again for my team, but in a year when they have a full team w/o me, I'm Boston bound!

This was my first time running the LI Marathon. I have run NYC six times. The positive aspects about the marathon is that the course is flat and you can sign up for it the day before. There are a number of negative aspects to the race which I was prepared for - the run is not scenic and most of the crowd abandons you around mile 10. The one thing that I was not prepared for was the poor water stations. The amount of water they gave you are stations was about two shot glasses worth. After mile 16, I approached each water station parched and left little better. Also a few times I raised my hand for water and the water was pulled away by the station aid. Apparently they were confused by my gesture. For anyone running the race, i would recommend bringing your own water for the second half of the race. Finally the race officials never asked for feedback about the race. This is something NYC does every year and a little feedback could correct some of the problems.

Ran the full marathon yesterday and found the race well organized. Course was basically flat and kinda boring which is ok if your running for time. Spent many miles on a closed highway which wasn't too bad due to cloudy skies. The few spectators I saw where enthusiastic and so where the volunteers at the water tables which was much appreciated. Finish line festivities were nice too (beer!). 2nd half of marathon had mile markers but no clocks. Ran into some congestion (slower half marathoners) during last few miles but not too bad especially since most of the second half of race I was basically alone. Had a small PR here so that really made my day! I would race it again if I wanted to stay local, but weather would influence me.

First time doing the Long Island Marathon. Overall, there were many things I enjoyed about it. I know that other people felt the route could have been better. However, I thought closing the highway and allowing the runners on the highway was the best part of the course. The race opened up after the 10 mile. The runners in the half marathon were heading back to the finish line. After that there was more room. There were still enough of runners to set your pace off of.
But of all races I have done, at whatever distance, the Long Island marathon had the best water stations. There was water stations at every mile. Each one was well stocked with more than enough water, gu, etc. The people at the water stations were very motivated to say the least.
The Long Island marathon is the race to do if you are doing your first marathon or if you are looking for a PR. Lastly, if you do this marathon get there early. There was parking but it was filling up fast.

I had run the half before but this was first time i did the full. The half gets the big crowd. We split at mile 10 and there are definitely more spectators in those first 10 miles. After you split its about 13 miles on a highway. I actually liked it! I enjoyed the sun (it was quite warm) and the trees....but if your one who NEEDS spectators this may not be the one to choose for a full...you're better off doing the half. But I enjoyed it. Very well organized, mile markers were very visible and water pretty much every mile. At like mile 23 you are back on local streets and there are spectators a again. Lotsa food at the end and nice sweatshirt/hoodie for full marathoners. Also a re-usable lunch bag. The medal was nice and a tech T (same for half and full runners).
If you love running...DO IT!
But get there early for parking near the finish (and time to walk to the start...like 10 mins from finish/parking lot).
I would do it again!

I returned to the LI Festival of Races to run the Half. In 2009, I ran the full and PR'd, but decided to avoid the long slog on the Wantagh Parkway. The Half course is waaaayyyy better than the second half of the full where it is all lonely stretches of highway for almost 12 miles.

As in 2009, the organizers were great, the medal was very nice (at least for the half runners) and we got a tech shirt, a tech hat and tech socks in a very nice heavy duty nylon bag. Well worth the registration price!

It was a hot day as the sun came out and I over dressed for the weather. There were a few spectators along the Half course that were great. The volunteers manning the aid stations were awesome as always. There were only three bands which was ok by me. I was hoping for more Gatorade along the course but I simply doubled up when I reach the right aide stations.

I will probably go back again to do the Half.

This is the first time doing this race. Overall, I liked it a lot. After reading other comments about the route I would have to disagree. I thought running the highway was the better part of the course. The field opened up after mile 10. The half marathon runners started to head back to the park at this point. However, there were still enough of runners in the full marathon to set your pace to. Also, of all the races I've done, at whatever distance, the LI marathon had the greatest water station. There was one every mile with more than enough water, gu, etc.. But the people at the water stations were the best part. For lack of a better term they were very motivated. Thanks again to all the people who put this event on.

If your coming to run this marathon and expect a lot of fan fare and spectators, this is not the race for you. If you are coming for beautiful scenery, this is also not the race for you. If you have trained through the winter and did not run Boston, live in the general area, and want to run a marathon the 1st week in May, this race IS FOR YOU. I have run the half marathon numerous times, but never the full until 5/1/11. The expo is not terrific, but what else do you want besides to pick up your bib number anyway. Easy access to start on race day. At the 10 mile mark, the half marathoners get off the Wantagh parkway and the full marathoners start their way down south on the parkway until the turn around at mile 16. The water stops at each mile stops are all manned by H.S. kids who shout encouragement throughout the day. Yes, there is not much shade on the parkway and the weather can definitely be an issue. There are spectators on the parkway, just not huge crowds like one is accustomed to at big city marathons. The finish area is very nice (band, beer and very easy for family to find you). Baggage claim is very close and your car should be as well. Yes, you may be running alone at times on the parkway, listening to the birds chirping away, but it is what it is. It is a flat course. Having lived on Long Island all my life and run the half a few times, I am very happy that I ran the full. All in all Nassau County puts on a good show on Marathon Weekend and if you live in the area, you owe it to yourself to run one of the races they offer (5k, 10k 13.1, 26.2). I did not break 3 hours like planned which was disappointing, but it was a good run with some good people I met on the way.