Long Island, Suffolk County Marathons to be competed virtually

Both the Long Island and Suffolk County Marathons, which were scheduled for October, will be competed virtually this fall, according to their respective race websites.

The Long Island Marathon, which was postponed from May 1-3 to October 2-4 in the spring due to the COVID-19 pandemic, was postponed again, this time until April 30-May 2, 2021, its usual spring weekend, the race website said.

The Suffolk County Marathon originally was scheduled for Oct. 25. Participants may run their desired distance, which range from 5K to the full 26.2-mile marathon, on their own anytime from Oct. 1-Oct. 31 and self-report their results on runsignup.com, the event’s website said.

Runners can do the same for the Long Island Marathon, with the deadline extending to Dec. 31, according to Corey Roberts, the race director at Race Awesome, the company that organizes the event.

Due to logistical concerns, the full 26.2-mile Long Island marathon was not being run during the October weekend, with runners being offered chances to run the 13.1-mile half-marathon, a 10K, or a 5K. All races were set to begin and end in Eisenhower Park.

Now, runners can run all races, including the full marathon, virtually, Roberts told Newsday in a text message.

“At this point in time, NY State COVID-19 Guidelines do not include a plan for reopening large scale events,” a statement on the Long Island marathon website read. “Today, restrictions have events capped at just 50 people and under. After reviewing the state guidelines with many county officials and talking with members of our community, a decision has been made that The Jovia Long Island Marathon [will] postpone the October 2020 race to the first weekend of May in 2021.”

The statement added that runners already registered and don’t choose to compete virtually can have their entry transferred to either 2021 or deferred until 2022.