Long Island is a vibrant residential area that combines the energy of New York City with the renowned beach and resort of the Hamptons. With a population of over 8 million, the island spans 118 miles from western Queens to Montauk and 37 miles north to south from Long Island Sound to the Atlantic Ocean. For runners, Long Island offers a variety of picturesque and multi-purpose trails, numerous state parks, and tranquil residential neighborhoods. Our guide to running on Long Island includes a representative selection of the best places to run. The State Park Summer Race Series: Sunken Meadow is one of the most popular running competitions in Suffolk County, NY.
The race is 21,097 km (13,109 miles) long and commences in Queens, crossing the Pulaski Bridge into Long Island City. After traveling around 4.0 km in Queens, runners traverse the East River on the lower level of the Queensboro Bridge (59th Street) into Manhattan. This is considered one of the most difficult points of the marathon as runners must ascend the bridge. Runners also pass timing mats at 5 km intervals along the course, allowing for email notifications to track their progress. Although miles are used in advertising material about marathons, the timing mats are placed at intervals of 5 km to facilitate the publication of the intervals and, in addition, to allow for possible world records of 20 km, 30 km and other sub-marathon distances. The race has three distinct routes that traverse Bay Ridge and ascend Brooklyn's Fourth Avenue before joining Lafayette Avenue in Brooklyn at mile 8.Each runner's bib will have a color (green, orange or blue) that will indicate the initial route to which it has been assigned, and each color will have its own starting village and pens in the waiting area. The race was first held in 1976 as part of the bicentennial anniversary celebration.
With support from Manhattan Borough President Percy Sutton and Mayor Abraham Beame, Election Director Fred Lebow proposed that the race should cover all five boroughs. The race was a great success and what was intended to be a unique celebration became an annual event. In addition to marathons, there are other running competitions held in Suffolk County. The State Park Summer Race Series: Sunken Meadow includes a 1.1 mile run along park trails, 4 bike laps on closed roads (a total of 11 miles), and another 1.1 mile run along park trails. In 1986, when the day of the race was moved to November, it was quickly determined that he had not run the entire course in either race, causing a major scandal.
