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Marathon Details - Long Island Marathon

North America Marathons > USA > NY > East Meadow > Long Island Marathon

Long Island Marathon

Jovia Long Island Marathon & Half Marathon, 10K, 5K

East Meadow, NY USA

May 4, 2025

http://www.raceawesome.com/upcoming-races

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Race Details

SUMMARY. All NEW Race Course for 2004 "Takin it to the Streets" of Nassau County. Still Flat and Fast.

Jovia Long Island Marathon is an excellent choice for runners looking to test their endurance and enjoy a well-supported race with a mix of bustling and peaceful segments. The pros include excellent organization, a supportive community, and a flat course that can lead to fast times.

The course, which has seen several changes over the years, begins in the heart of Long Island and winds through various landscapes, including residential neighborhoods and highways. This marathon provides a mix of urban and serene environments, with the first half of the course lined with enthusiastic spectators and the latter part offering solitude on the highway.

The marathon is well-organized, ensuring that runners have access to hydration and fueling stations, although some sections may require participants to bring additional water. Despite a few challenging spots, the overall layout is designed to help runners achieve personal bests, thanks to its relatively flat terrain and minimal elevation changes.

Participants appreciate the sense of community and the supportive atmosphere, although the race can feel psychologically demanding due to stretches with fewer spectators. The race ends with a celebration, where finishers receive unique ribbons as awards and enjoy a festival-like atmosphere with food and entertainment.

Contact Information

Name:	Race Director
Address:	Long Island Marathon Nassau County Pk., Rec.& Mus. Eisenhower Park East Meadow, NY 11554
Phone Number:	(516) 572-0248
Fax Number:	(516) 572-0248
Email:	Email the organizers

Runner Reviews (145)

Course 3.0

Organization 3.5

Spectators 2.6

Write a review

Number of comments: 145 [displaying comments 1 to 11]

More Comments: [ < 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 .. 15 > ]

J. M. from New York (9/7/2022) "Course needs to be changed." (about: 2022) 6-10 previous marathons \| 6+ Long Island Marathons COURSE: 1 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 1 I have ran this race over 20 times (half/full). The course was recently changed. Not a spectator friendly course at all. Race consisted of up and back routes, bank lines and obscure roads to nowhere. Mitchell Field and N.C. College are great examples. No water stations at every mile. No clocks at all on the course. The worst race that this marathon/half marathon has ever had. A very small turnout. This used to be THE race on Long Island for many years, but not with this racing group that heads it and made the course changes. Need to put people in charge that have some imagination for a racing course, even if if means reinstating a previous course.
Rinku Uberoi from New York (8/16/2019) "disorganized" (about: 2019) 1 previous marathon COURSE: 1 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 1 I ran the half instead of the full. I registered for the full but missed a turn at some point and went the wrong way.
Rich Sparacin from Holbrook, New York (5/26/2019) "Step In the Right Direction" (about: 2019) 3 previous marathons \| 1 Long Island Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 This was only my third marathon but I have run the Long Island Half the previous two years. I signed up for this race because they changed the course to limit the amount of time/miles on a parkway. Course wise, I thought it was a good challenging course, with some hills and flat areas. Unfortunately it rained so there were a lot of puddles at the beginning that caused some runners to slow down and cause a traffic jam.....Other than that little spat, the course itself was good up until the 6 to 7 miles on the parkway. Though it was limited compared to previous years, 6 miles is still a lot of parkway nothingness... For the most part, the organization was pretty good, though I know there were complaints about the 10K and that some marathoners missed the sign for the Half.Full split but those are kinks that can be worked out. My disappointment was that they ran out of shirts, which always is weird to me if you sign up and put your size down, then they should have a shirt for you but they didn't. The after party would have been awesome had it not been for the rain.... The rain caused a lot of spectators to not turn out which is always a downer... Overall, I was pleased with this marathon and I did have a PR so that was cool.
Nick S. from Schaumburg, Illinois (5/11/2018) "To midwesterners these are called hills." (about: 2018) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Long Island Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 Long Islanders....if you call this course flat then you are absolutely out of your mind. I have run 12 marathons already and I will say this is either the first or second most hilliest course I have ever run. If you call this flat then you have never ran a marathon in the midwest and other marathons outside of the east coast. During the 'stretch of death' that starts at the split of the half marathon/marathon there is a 300 feet elevation gain especially at Mile 16. I never trained the last few months so this is where it got to me. This race was well organized, but disappointed that there were no electrolytes for the first several aid stations; however, they had them on the marathon course. To everyone living outside of Long Island: Hotels are brutally overpriced here and over 100.00 for a decent hotel. The marathon rate is 140.00 at Marriott. Crazy. I went to Priceline and got an express deal for a Radisson for 93.00. Also on Priceline a round trip ticket with the basic no carry on (I brought a backpack) is 120.00 on Priceline and also on priceline I was able to rent a car for 35.00 a day. This is my 8th state for my 50 marathons in 50 states and I would recommend it for anyone who just wants to do a quick weekend state knockout.
A. G. from New Jersey (5/7/2016) "Great value-for-money race flat course" (about: 2016) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Long Island Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 I had read all the reviews with complaints about the dull course, in particular, the 12/13 miles on the closed parkway. Personally, I loved it. Plenty of space, no turns so fast, spectators were not legion but made up for their lack of numbers with their enthusiasm. Good expo for a small marathon, great volunteers, I would recommend this race to anybody. For those who are interested, T-shirt was not great, medal average, but that is low on my list of criteria
James Armata from East Meadow NY (5/4/2016) "I love my home town race and never miss it!" (about: 2016) 11-50 previous marathons \| 6+ Long Island Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 I ran the 2016 race in the rain and remember that in 2005 it was a similar battle. The course was different, but I love it the same because I'm close to home in East Meadow, run by the local shops and it's easy to get to and from this race. I only missed this race once because I was struck by a drunken driver and had to sit the 2003 race. My time was never recorded due to chip malfunction from the rain and I'm a bit of a stat junkie and wish I could get my time recorded on line. 4:20:18 bib #1611 if anybody can work the magic.
B. Q. from NY (5/2/2016) "Fast course, needs more support" (about: 2016) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Long Island Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 3 PROS: If you are looking for a fast and flat spring marathon this is it! Plus you get a free 5k the weekend before. The finish line festival was fantastic and logistics is easy with drop off points, parking and shuttles. CONS: I think the all day rain hampered the volunteer support, but the aid station setup could have been better. The first half of the course and the last two aid stations had water only! The final few aid stations on the return section of the highway had the cups left on the median making it very difficult to get drinks. A tip for those running next year. The 2nd half is run on the highway with wide sweeping turns, this makes running the tangents very difficult.
B. B. from New York (5/7/2015) "Ignore Negative Comments- Race is a Blast!" (about: 2015) 2 previous marathons \| 1 Long Island Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 There seem to be a few runners who had a negative race experience and I honestly don't get it. Yes, 14 miles of this course take place on a highway, but the highway is lined with trees and very scenic. True, there aren't tons of people cheering the whole way, but there are still a few lounging about who are very vocal and friendly, cheering for every runner that passes. Anyone that's done marathon training has spent countless hours running without a single person cheering- why does this become the metric by which a race is judged? This is not the NYC marathon I definitely recommend running NY, but the long island race is not in competition with NY. It is a much smaller, event that includes runners of all ages and abilities by having a marathon, 1/2-marathon and 10K option all at the same time. It's a bit strange to be running among people doing such varying distances, but it works well because the course remains open for much longer than a typical half marathon, allowing slower runners a chance to finish without worrying too much about a cutoff. For a serious but non-competitive runner like myself, the course was perfect. An early season race is often a challenge and us NYers are still recovering from a tough winter, but the weather was reasonable cool (a bit warm towards the end, maybe?) and the course was pancake-flat with minimal turns, making it easy to stay in the 'zone'. Aid stations were also well-staffed with both water and gatorade available at nearly every station and powergels available at most. The volunteers were well-trained and they didn't put fingers in cups or spill as they handed off the cups. In conclusion, the course was exactly what I expected. Not a very loud production, but a great blend of suburbia and parkway, with very friendly people all around.
P. G. from New York City (5/3/2015) "One of the World's Dullest Courses" (about: 2015) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Long Island Marathon COURSE: 1 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 2 If you read other comments here, you'll quickly find out that this marathon is renowned year after year for being unbelievably boring. The problem is, I couldn't believe just how bad it was until I ran it myself. It's all true. So, this was my 27th marathon. I have run all over the world and wanted to finally do this one because it's local for me as a New York City resident and it's been held for more than 40 years apparently... Fine. Now I've done it; flat course, fast time, yada, yada, yada... But I will never do it again as it truly is as shamefully dull as I had been forewarned. The big question I have for the organizers is WHY? Long Island has some beautiful areas, with parks, lakes, oceanfront, bays...With just a little more effort, they could surely improve the course AND attract more runners (hint: LI has 1.5 million residents and NYC is 40 minutes away, not to mention the vast tri-state area, the North East corridor, etc)...Even at that time of year - the first Sunday in May - when most of the inner and mid parts of Long Island have a burst of spring color to enjoy, even a moderate attempt to move or re-route the course would be a huge improvement. The fact, however, is that so much of this marathon (at least 14 miles of it) are on a closed-off, car-free, people-free, Site-free (unless you count highway trees) out-and-back course, the course is a textbook 'how to make your race as uninteresting and uninviting as possible'. And yes, I know there are a handful of supporters on this site who will wax on about the zen-like qualities of no fans and no scenery, but really? Is that what a big running event like a marathon - something for runners, families, fans, and volunteers - should be about? Is that what really represents a major area like Long Island and does it show off some of its lovelier qualities to draw in runners from all over and get a boost for the area for that weekend? I can't imagine that it does. With such wonderful examples such as the New York City Marathon 'right down the street' (heck, even the New Jersey Marathon which runs along beach towns in April does a great job each year), why hasn't someone at the Long Island Marathon taken a hint in the last 40+ years to make this better. The area's runners and Long Island itself deserves far better from a marathon that calls itself by that name.
J. A. from Washington DC (7/7/2014) "Easy, well organized race." (about: 2014) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Long Island Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 I think about 13K people run the festival, but less than 700 do the full marathon. So the first 10 miles you are with the 1/2 marathon folks. Then they take a right and the full marathoners keep going straight out and back down the Wantaugh Parkway. Personally, I love it. You have the whole road to yourself and the few spectators that you see have so much energy to give you. And the volunteers at the water stop were wonderful. I recommend this race if you don't need lots of support, want a straight forward flat course. Plus the food bag at the end of the race was great.

More Comments: [ < 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 .. 15 > ]



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J. M. from New York (9/7/2022) "Course needs to be changed." (about: 2022) 6-10 previous marathons \| 6+ Long Island Marathons COURSE: 1 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 1 I have ran this race over 20 times (half/full). The course was recently changed. Not a spectator friendly course at all. Race consisted of up and back routes, bank lines and obscure roads to nowhere. Mitchell Field and N.C. College are great examples. No water stations at every mile. No clocks at all on the course. The worst race that this marathon/half marathon has ever had. A very small turnout. This used to be THE race on Long Island for many years, but not with this racing group that heads it and made the course changes. Need to put people in charge that have some imagination for a racing course, even if if means reinstating a previous course.
Rinku Uberoi from New York (8/16/2019) "disorganized" (about: 2019) 1 previous marathon COURSE: 1 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 1 I ran the half instead of the full. I registered for the full but missed a turn at some point and went the wrong way.
Rich Sparacin from Holbrook, New York (5/26/2019) "Step In the Right Direction" (about: 2019) 3 previous marathons \| 1 Long Island Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 This was only my third marathon but I have run the Long Island Half the previous two years. I signed up for this race because they changed the course to limit the amount of time/miles on a parkway. Course wise, I thought it was a good challenging course, with some hills and flat areas. Unfortunately it rained so there were a lot of puddles at the beginning that caused some runners to slow down and cause a traffic jam.....Other than that little spat, the course itself was good up until the 6 to 7 miles on the parkway. Though it was limited compared to previous years, 6 miles is still a lot of parkway nothingness... For the most part, the organization was pretty good, though I know there were complaints about the 10K and that some marathoners missed the sign for the Half.Full split but those are kinks that can be worked out. My disappointment was that they ran out of shirts, which always is weird to me if you sign up and put your size down, then they should have a shirt for you but they didn't. The after party would have been awesome had it not been for the rain.... The rain caused a lot of spectators to not turn out which is always a downer... Overall, I was pleased with this marathon and I did have a PR so that was cool.
Nick S. from Schaumburg, Illinois (5/11/2018) "To midwesterners these are called hills." (about: 2018) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Long Island Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 Long Islanders....if you call this course flat then you are absolutely out of your mind. I have run 12 marathons already and I will say this is either the first or second most hilliest course I have ever run. If you call this flat then you have never ran a marathon in the midwest and other marathons outside of the east coast. During the 'stretch of death' that starts at the split of the half marathon/marathon there is a 300 feet elevation gain especially at Mile 16. I never trained the last few months so this is where it got to me. This race was well organized, but disappointed that there were no electrolytes for the first several aid stations; however, they had them on the marathon course. To everyone living outside of Long Island: Hotels are brutally overpriced here and over 100.00 for a decent hotel. The marathon rate is 140.00 at Marriott. Crazy. I went to Priceline and got an express deal for a Radisson for 93.00. Also on Priceline a round trip ticket with the basic no carry on (I brought a backpack) is 120.00 on Priceline and also on priceline I was able to rent a car for 35.00 a day. This is my 8th state for my 50 marathons in 50 states and I would recommend it for anyone who just wants to do a quick weekend state knockout.
A. G. from New Jersey (5/7/2016) "Great value-for-money race flat course" (about: 2016) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Long Island Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 I had read all the reviews with complaints about the dull course, in particular, the 12/13 miles on the closed parkway. Personally, I loved it. Plenty of space, no turns so fast, spectators were not legion but made up for their lack of numbers with their enthusiasm. Good expo for a small marathon, great volunteers, I would recommend this race to anybody. For those who are interested, T-shirt was not great, medal average, but that is low on my list of criteria
James Armata from East Meadow NY (5/4/2016) "I love my home town race and never miss it!" (about: 2016) 11-50 previous marathons \| 6+ Long Island Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 I ran the 2016 race in the rain and remember that in 2005 it was a similar battle. The course was different, but I love it the same because I'm close to home in East Meadow, run by the local shops and it's easy to get to and from this race. I only missed this race once because I was struck by a drunken driver and had to sit the 2003 race. My time was never recorded due to chip malfunction from the rain and I'm a bit of a stat junkie and wish I could get my time recorded on line. 4:20:18 bib #1611 if anybody can work the magic.
B. Q. from NY (5/2/2016) "Fast course, needs more support" (about: 2016) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Long Island Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 3 PROS: If you are looking for a fast and flat spring marathon this is it! Plus you get a free 5k the weekend before. The finish line festival was fantastic and logistics is easy with drop off points, parking and shuttles. CONS: I think the all day rain hampered the volunteer support, but the aid station setup could have been better. The first half of the course and the last two aid stations had water only! The final few aid stations on the return section of the highway had the cups left on the median making it very difficult to get drinks. A tip for those running next year. The 2nd half is run on the highway with wide sweeping turns, this makes running the tangents very difficult.
B. B. from New York (5/7/2015) "Ignore Negative Comments- Race is a Blast!" (about: 2015) 2 previous marathons \| 1 Long Island Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 There seem to be a few runners who had a negative race experience and I honestly don't get it. Yes, 14 miles of this course take place on a highway, but the highway is lined with trees and very scenic. True, there aren't tons of people cheering the whole way, but there are still a few lounging about who are very vocal and friendly, cheering for every runner that passes. Anyone that's done marathon training has spent countless hours running without a single person cheering- why does this become the metric by which a race is judged? This is not the NYC marathon I definitely recommend running NY, but the long island race is not in competition with NY. It is a much smaller, event that includes runners of all ages and abilities by having a marathon, 1/2-marathon and 10K option all at the same time. It's a bit strange to be running among people doing such varying distances, but it works well because the course remains open for much longer than a typical half marathon, allowing slower runners a chance to finish without worrying too much about a cutoff. For a serious but non-competitive runner like myself, the course was perfect. An early season race is often a challenge and us NYers are still recovering from a tough winter, but the weather was reasonable cool (a bit warm towards the end, maybe?) and the course was pancake-flat with minimal turns, making it easy to stay in the 'zone'. Aid stations were also well-staffed with both water and gatorade available at nearly every station and powergels available at most. The volunteers were well-trained and they didn't put fingers in cups or spill as they handed off the cups. In conclusion, the course was exactly what I expected. Not a very loud production, but a great blend of suburbia and parkway, with very friendly people all around.
P. G. from New York City (5/3/2015) "One of the World's Dullest Courses" (about: 2015) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Long Island Marathon COURSE: 1 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 2 If you read other comments here, you'll quickly find out that this marathon is renowned year after year for being unbelievably boring. The problem is, I couldn't believe just how bad it was until I ran it myself. It's all true. So, this was my 27th marathon. I have run all over the world and wanted to finally do this one because it's local for me as a New York City resident and it's been held for more than 40 years apparently... Fine. Now I've done it; flat course, fast time, yada, yada, yada... But I will never do it again as it truly is as shamefully dull as I had been forewarned. The big question I have for the organizers is WHY? Long Island has some beautiful areas, with parks, lakes, oceanfront, bays...With just a little more effort, they could surely improve the course AND attract more runners (hint: LI has 1.5 million residents and NYC is 40 minutes away, not to mention the vast tri-state area, the North East corridor, etc)...Even at that time of year - the first Sunday in May - when most of the inner and mid parts of Long Island have a burst of spring color to enjoy, even a moderate attempt to move or re-route the course would be a huge improvement. The fact, however, is that so much of this marathon (at least 14 miles of it) are on a closed-off, car-free, people-free, Site-free (unless you count highway trees) out-and-back course, the course is a textbook 'how to make your race as uninteresting and uninviting as possible'. And yes, I know there are a handful of supporters on this site who will wax on about the zen-like qualities of no fans and no scenery, but really? Is that what a big running event like a marathon - something for runners, families, fans, and volunteers - should be about? Is that what really represents a major area like Long Island and does it show off some of its lovelier qualities to draw in runners from all over and get a boost for the area for that weekend? I can't imagine that it does. With such wonderful examples such as the New York City Marathon 'right down the street' (heck, even the New Jersey Marathon which runs along beach towns in April does a great job each year), why hasn't someone at the Long Island Marathon taken a hint in the last 40+ years to make this better. The area's runners and Long Island itself deserves far better from a marathon that calls itself by that name.
J. A. from Washington DC (7/7/2014) "Easy, well organized race." (about: 2014) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Long Island Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 I think about 13K people run the festival, but less than 700 do the full marathon. So the first 10 miles you are with the 1/2 marathon folks. Then they take a right and the full marathoners keep going straight out and back down the Wantaugh Parkway. Personally, I love it. You have the whole road to yourself and the few spectators that you see have so much energy to give you. And the volunteers at the water stop were wonderful. I recommend this race if you don't need lots of support, want a straight forward flat course. Plus the food bag at the end of the race was great.

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Marathon Details - Long Island Marathon