Runner in Jovia Long Island Marathon inspired by soldiers in Ukraine

Dmytro Yurchyk, one of the hundreds of entrants running the 26.2-mile Jovia Long Island Marathon in Eisenhower Park and on nearby streets Sunday, wanted to quit several times.

But whenever he felt the urge, he thought of Ukraine.

The thought of his home country and the ongoing war made him emotional — to the verge of tearing up. So he kept running. As he neared the end, his wife, Sofiia  Nalizhyta, handed him a Ukrainian flag. He raised the large, blue-and-yellow flag in the air as he crossed the finish line.

“I wanted to give up. But the guys in Ukraine are on the front lines. They didn't have a choice. They have to protect Ukraine,” Yurchyk said. “There's no way for them to give up. Why should I give up?”

Yurchyk finished his first marathon in 2:52:15, placing sixth of all runners. The men's marathon was won by Westhampton’s Jordan Daniel, 28, in 2:21:05. Jennifer Zopp of Goldens Bridge in Westchester County won the women’s marathon in 3:08:32.

Nearly 500 people ran in the marathon and  almost 1,400 ran in the half-marathon Sunday, according to results on the website for the races. The weekend event, which began Friday, drew more than 2,600 participants. The Sunday event alone drew thousands of spectators, said Corey Roberts, the race director at Race Awesome, the company that organizes the event.

On a bright sunny day, young children sat on their fathers’ shoulders to watch people cross the finish line. Supporters clutching handmade signs yelled words of support. Many held bouquets of tulips and daisies in their arms. Some had balloons tied to their strollers.

Some came from out of state. Yurchyk and his wife live in Virginia but are visiting Nalizhyta’s parents in Queens. Nalizhyta, who emigrated from Ukraine seven years ago with her parents, first lived in Copiague.

“The first thing we do in the morning: we open the news channel and check what happened during the night. Is everything still good? Is everyone still alive?” said Nalizhyta, 28, who sat on grass and had a Ukrainian flag draped over her. “It's really tough for everybody.”

But the marathon, Nalizhyta said, raised her spirits because her husband was running to represent their country. “It meant a lot to us, especially nowadays,” she said.

The race also meant something personal to Ella Hickland, 70, of Merrick. Hickland has been running for nearly 25 years to honor her late brother Woodrow Hampton, who had lost his ability to walk a few decades ago. 

“He was no longer able to walk so I started running in honor of him,” said Hickland, who ran a half-marathon Sunday and was on her way to church afterward. “It made me feel better. I could deal with it better.”

While running can be a solitary exercise, training for a marathon and doing it is a group effort. Many said they felt driven by the camaraderie and support from others, including those outside their personal circles like the strangers who cheered them on along the sidelines or the volunteers who handed them water bottles or bananas at the end of the race.

“Everyone's there for you,” said Olivia Szeto, 36, of Queens, noting the pandemic’s impact on mental health. “You don't feel alone. I think people need to feel that they are not alone and that everyone's in it together.”

By Dandan Zou

dandan.zou@newsday.com@DandanZou

Dandan Zou covers education for Newsday. Previously, she worked for a community newspaper in Maryland and a personal finance magazine in Washington, D.C.