Thanksgiving Day races have their fans - and critics

Jamie Sokol and her family, lifelong residents of Port Washington North, dread Thanksgiving morning, when thousands of runners come through their neighborhood.

They don't have anything against the annual 5-mile race itself, but Sokol would like organizers to plot a course that doesn't trap them in or out of the village on a holiday that usually involves family travel.

"On the day of Thanksgiving, there will be folks lined up, waiting to get out once that race clears," she said, adding that the event closes all roads in and out of the village.

Organizers of the 35-year-old race, which last year raised $60,000 for the Community Chest of Port Washington, said Wednesday they have tried to design a better course. "There's no route that doesn't inconvenience people," said Nancy Cowles, president of Community Chest, a group that funds nonprofits in Port Washington.

The Port Washington run is one of nine Thanksgiving Day races on Long Island.

"We're not promoting that the race gets canceled," Sokol said. "The course just needs to be changed."

Sokol, 27, grew up having to make Thanksgiving travel plans around the race. While in college, she scheduled early morning flights home to avoid road closures. Now that she lives in Brooklyn, she still plans travel around the race, she said.

Village resident Linda Katims, 56, said there has been conflicting information in the past on what times the closures are in effect. Last year, one sign said it would end at 10:30 a.m., and a voice mail from police said the race ended at 9:30 a.m. The race ended at noon, she said.

Race organizers hope better communication this year and in the future will limit confusion about the duration of road closures, Cowles said. Closures will be in effect from 8 to 10:30 a.m. this year and roads will be partly opened as the number of runners still on the course thins, Cowles said. About 2,100 runners participated in the Port Washington race last year.

Port Washington North Mayor Bob Weitzner, an avid runner who participates in the race, acknowledged that it effectively closes the village for hours, but hasn't heard of a workable and safe alternative. He's hoping to meet with residents to find ways to improve next year's course.

Planning routes frustrates other event organizers. "You will never satisfy everyone," said Fred Haslett, president of Long Island Road Runners, which organizes its own races.

Katie Stockhammer, campaign director for the Long Island chapter of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, which has Thanksgiving Day runs in Massapequa and Smithtown, said the key is to involve the community, communicate clearly and keep the course short.