Danielle Simone Heading for Suffolk Marathon

Danielle Simone will return to her roots when she joins the Suffolk County Marathon and Half Marathon To Support Our Veterans on Sept. 13.

Simone, 37, a Levittown resident, will run the full marathon. ”I am running the Suffolk County Full Marathon for a multitude of reasons,” she said. “It starts and ends in Heckscher State Park where I worked for many summers as a teen. The course runs through my hometown of Sayville and all of the South Shore towns I grew up frequenting. It’s an inaugural race, who doesn’t want to be a part of Long Island history? This will he my second marathon. My second child will just have turned one. I ran my first marathon (NYC 2013) when my first child was only 11 months old.”

The races will raise funds to expand and enhance veterans’ services in Suffolk County. It also is a last-chance qualifier for the Boston marathon.

The marathon has a distinctly planned route that was designed to showcase and drive tourism toward downtowns along the Great South Bay. The race will begin and end at Heckscher State Park in East Islip with a Taste of Long Island wine and food festival to end race festivities and highlight local craft breweries, award-winning wines, and local food and produce. Free tastings will be given to all race participants. Suffolk County has partnered with New York State to host this inaugural event. The festival will also feature live musical entertainment.

The Taste of Long Island Festival is being made possible with the support and partnership with New York State, the Suffolk County Restaurant and Tavern Association, the Long Island Wine Council, and the Long Island Farm Bureau.

“The Suffolk County marathon is a mechanism to highlight the incredible communities, natural resources and businesses we have here in Suffolk County,” said County Executive Steve Bellone, who is also running the Suffolk marathon. “Suffolk County is a world renowned destination. From the Hamptons to our wine country to our amazing downtowns and world class beaches, we are a destination for tourism, businesses, recreation, and living. Our marathon will give us an opportunity to showcase all of that.”

For some race participants, the Suffolk marathon is their first full marathon, while other registrants have been competing in marathons, tough mudder races and triathlons for years. Runners from around Long Island and beyond are participating, including wheelchair and hand cycle competitors, veterans and supporters of veterans, as well as many others eager to enjoy Suffolk’s natural beauty and participate in the inaugural race.

Simone started out in 2011 with triathlon and 5k races. “I have a good number of half marathons under my belt and lots of the popular Long Island races; Long Island half marathon, Fairfield half marathon, Kings Park 15k, Aspire 10k, Cow Harbor 10k and many of these I run every year. I’m a member of the Selden Hills Warrior in Training Team .i have also been coached by local triathlon team Tri Global.

“ I spend much of my spare time fundraising for the American Lung Association and March of Dimes. I ran the NYC marathon as a charity runner raising over $6,000 for the American Lung Association. I try to improve as an athlete each year and found running to be the perfect stay fit routine for me. I’m a stay at home mother of two young children always looking for a good and fun race.“

To learn more about the Suffolk marathon or to register, visit http://www.suffolkmarathon.com or facebook.com/stevebellone