Greater Babylon coverage is funded in part by The Argyle Theatre, where Broadway comes to Babylon. Click here for tickets to ‘A Bronx Tale,’ performing April 25 to June 16.
Runners are days away from participating in the 7th annual Catholic Health Suffolk County Marathon, and this time the organizers have upgraded the course scenery.
Drawing in thousands of runners each year, the 2021 marathon participants will start in the Village of Babylon, run east on Montauk Highway, get some great views while crossing over the Great South Bay on the Robert Moses Causeway towards Captree, run back over the bridges to end in Gardiner County Park in Bay Shore.
The marathon raises money to benefit veterans and according to its website, the Suffolk County Marathon has raised over $600,000 for local veterans’ services through the years.
There are five races split up into different time slots on Oct. 23 and 24, here’s the list of events:
- The 1k race begins at 11 a.m. on Saturday inside Gardiner County Park
- The 10k, half marathon (13.1 miles) and full marathon (26.2 miles) start at 7:30 a.m. on Sunday
- The 5k race kicks off at 8:15 a.m. on Sunday
- The 5k, 10k, half marathon and full marathon all start at the Babylon LIRR train station, on the corner of Railroad and Deer Park Avenue
- View the full race course for each category here
On Sunday, Catholic Health is also hosting a Freedom Fest, which is an outdoor festival where race finishers and their families can celebrate with live music, arts and crafts, local food trucks, craft beer and more.
The first annual Suffolk Marathon Brewery Night is tomorrow night from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Sand City Brewing Co. at 150 S. Wellwood Ave. in Lindenhurst.
There will be live music, plenty of beer and an open mic Q&A for those with any last-minute questions about the race.
The pre-race fun doesn’t stop there — join the Ancient Order of the Hibernians at 27 Locust Ave. in Babylon on Friday night for an all-you-can-eat pasta dinner.
Tickets are $5.99 in advance or $10.99 at the door and all proceeds benefit Suffolk County Veteran causes.
On race day, residents can expect road closures at Northbound Robert Moses Causeway from Captree State Park to Route 27a at 5:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The Southbound bridge, East and Westbound lanes on Ocean Parkway will remain open. Residents should use the Wantagh Parkway to travel north of Ocean Parkway.
For more information or to register for the race, visit the event’s website.
Top: Runners in the 2016 Suffolk County Marathon in Patchogue Village. Photo courtesy of the marathon’s Facebook page.
