Suozzi Announces Rexcorp Long Island Marathon Now Includes 10K Run

Invites All to Museum Row Family Festival on Marathon Weekend

Garden City, NY- Nassau County Executive Thomas R. Suozzi was today joined by Rexcorp Chair Scott Rechler, Nassau Parks Commissioner Jose Lopez and Village of Westbury Mayor Ernest Strada to announce that for the first time in its 35-year history, the 2007 RexCorp Long Island Marathon will host a 10K Run and a Kids’ “Fun Run,” both aimed at expanding the event’s reach to the broader community with its message of health, good sportsmanship and fun. County Executive Suozzi and Commissioner Lopez will be running the new 10k race.

“Not everyone has the endurance to make it to the finish line of the RexCorp Long Island Marathon, but all are excited by the prospect of competing. In order to expand the field for greater inclusion, we organized a 10K run this year that we expect to attract a wider array of athletes, spanning a more diverse range of skill and endurance. I am happy to be personally participating in this year’s 10K run” said County Executive Suozzi.

“Intended for the under-11 crowd, the Kids’ Fun Run will also generate family participation. With its intergenerational involvement, we expect the Fun Run to become a major annual attraction of the RexCorp Long Island Marathon,” Suozzi continued. 

“We’re extremely proud of our history with the Long Island Marathon,” commented Scott Rechler, Chairman of RexCorp, the Marathon’s title sponsor. “We’re delighted to see the growth and evolution of this leading local sporting event as we celebrate its 35th anniversary. As the event expands to include an ever broader community of athletes, families and friends, we hope all Long Islanders, participants and spectators, young and old alike, will experience a great Marathon and make it a point to return each year.”

The Full Marathon and Half Marathon Races will begin on “Race Day,” Sunday, May 6, at the Nassau County Hub, passing Museum Row, the Nassau Coliseum, RexCorp’s Omni Building, Nassau Community College and Mitchel Athletic Complex.  The route will continue through the streets of the Village of Westbury to Jericho Turnpike and return via Brush Hollow Road and Carman Avenue (Wantagh Parkway for Full Marathoners), finishing in Eisenhower Park. Entertainment will be provided throughout the race route, and an enhanced post-race program and refreshments will be presented. Awards will be given in all races by age category.

A three-day sporting event featuring a Fitness Showcase and Runner’s Expo, will kick off an activity-filled “Marathon Weekend” , which culminates with the Marathon itself, begins on Friday, May 4, and Saturday, May 5, with the popular Runner’s Expo, a veritable fitness showcase hosted by Nassau County at the Mitchel Field Athletic Complex. The traditional, complimentary pasta dinner for all participating runners will also be hosted on Friday evening at the RexCorp Visitor Center at the Cradle of Aviation.

Also planned for Marathon Weekend will be a “Museum Row Family Festival”, offering the best that Nassau County museums have to offer. The Cradle of Aviation Museum, the Long Island Children’s Museum, the Nassau County Firefighter’s Museum and the Long Island Museum of Science and Technology have joined forces to create a weekend of family fun and exploration, featuring a variety of indoor and outdoor activities on Saturday, May 5, and Sunday, May 6, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Festival tickets, which provide admission to all of the museums for both days, will be $10 per person. Each registered participant of the Full and Half Marathons, 10K and Fun Run will receive one free admission ticket to the Museum Row Family Festival.

The new “Kids’ Fun Run”, was designed to promote the fitness and health of Long Island’s children as well as provide an opportunity for families to participate in an exciting and memorable activity together. All entrants will receive a medal for completion, and no pre-registration is necessary and participation is free. The Fun Run will be held on the track at Mitchel Athletic Complex on Saturday, May 5, at 1 p.m. for children ages one through 11.

In addition to title sponsor RexCorp Realty, the Marathon is sponsored by:  WABCTV, North Fork Bank, Newsday, Oxford Health Plans, Optimum, LIPA, Dover Caterers, 95.5 WPLJ, Oasis Children’s Services,  Michelob Ultra, Dunkin Donuts and Pompeian

Late registration (for the Full & Half Marathon, $50; 10K, $35) is offered on May 4 and May 5 at the Marathon Expo at Mitchel Athletic Complex. For additional information, call 516-572-0248 or visit the website at www.thelimarathon.com

Physical fitness is a component of “Healthy Nassau”, Suozzi’s campaign to make Nassau the healthiest county in the nation, builds upon existing initiatives and adds new ones in order to sustain a healthy environment (focusing on air, land and water), while encouraging healthy living (tending to bodies, minds and spirits). Along with Department of Health’s behavioral risk factor survey, Healthy Nassau initiatives include: pushing to ban trans fats and put calorie counts on menus; working with other large municipalities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and explore mass transit options; continuing to preserve the County’s remaining open space; operating an organic farm at Old Bethpage Village Restoration, and seeking a state-authorized increased cigarette tax to discourage smoking.