Icebreaker Marathon and Half Marathon
East Meadow, NY
- Marathon, Half Marathon, 5K
- Road (Paved)
- Official race website
Sunday long run? How about a Sunday REALLY long run?! Join this January tradition of running in Eisenhower Park with some congenial company! This is a no-frills race, so there is no shirt or giveaway – but it is a nice chip-timed and scored event – and a BOSTON QUALIFIER … MORE
Local Historical Weather (Jan 24):
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | |
| H (°F) | 17 | 33 | 45 | 46 | 36 |
| L (°F) | 10 | 15 | 36 | 36 | 29 |
Find Nearby Lodging (hotel, rental, etc.):
Colder Than Antarctica
There are limited half marathon options in the Northeast in the winter. I was initially planning to do this half marathon as a double with Fred Lebow in Manhattan the … MORE
There are limited half marathon options in the Northeast in the winter. I was initially planning to do this half marathon as a double with Fred Lebow in Manhattan the next day. Fred Lebow got cancelled but I wasn’t sure how else I would get a long run in this weekend so decided to go to NY state just for this race. Pre-race communication was mostly good with communication about the weather except when they accidentally switched everyone to virtual when they just meant to give us the option. I freaked out that the race was canceled as I didn’t want to do a ton of miles on the dreadmill but they soon sent an email that the virtual registration was a mistake and the race was indeed on. For the race I stayed with a good running friend who lives in Long Island near the race and we drove there together. My friend picked up my race packet on Friday so no comment on packet pick-up. Swag is a cute long sleeve tech shirt in a nice light blue color. It was 11 degrees at the start. We decided to do the race together to commiserate together in the cold. I have been training more this winter and was faster than my friend but didn’t mind taking this one slow as I knew it wouldn’t be my fastest in the cold and want to save my energy for a fast race in California next weekend. The course is at a park in Long Island. It is 4 loops around the park. Normally I’m not a huge fan of loop races but I think it is the best set up for the winter so if someone is too cold they can drop out easily. You also pass by your car 4 times if you need to grab or shed another layer. I had perfected the art of cold weather running clothes in preparation for Antarctica last year so was dressed perfect for the weather (I had wool socks, base layer thermal pants under my usual leggings, a long sleeved tech shirt, a zip race jacket and a running jacket, a fleece buff, warm hat and gloves that covert into mittens). This race cost only $55 and it was honestly better produced than Key West which cost me 4X more. The course was super well marked. There were cones along all of it so you couldn’t get lost. The loops are sort of figure 8 and there are aid stations on either side of a section you run twice each loop so 8 aid stations total. Really appreciated the volunteers out there. Never ran out of aid. Stations had water and Gatorade. The volunteers did their best to make sure things weren’t too cold. No nutrition on course which is fine for a $55 dollar race. The course is okay. It is just a park but there is a nice part by a small lake. It was very cold and some parts were really windy. There is a half marathon which is 4 loops and a full which is 8 and both have a 6 hour time limit. This was very back of the pack friendly and all the race staff were very friendly and cheerful even though we were slow. We were never treated like a burden or we shouldn’t belong here. We met a nice participant running her first half marathon and let her join us. She had to walk the last few miles but we didn’t want her to finish alone. As a result I think this was a personal worst for a road half but it would have been miserable doing 13.1 miles alone today. Finish line was a bit subdued since it was so cold but there was an indoor area where we got the medal which was cute for the price and there was good snack selection including big, delicious cookies. Overall this was a solid local race. Not my first choice for NY given the boring course and potential for cold weather. But if you want a winter half in the Northeast to get a long run in, then it is a nice option. Would consider doing it again and hope for better weather.