Smithtown's Brendan Martin Qualifies For NYS Olympic Trials And Is Recognized By County Exec. Bellone

“Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone presents local runners with proclamations.” (L-R Smithtown Running Company manager Mike Petrina, Leonora Petrina, Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone, Brendan Martin, Smithtown Running Company owner Brendan Barrett)

(click on photo to enlarge)

Sayville, NY- January 26^th 2015- Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone recently honored local runners Brendan Martin of Smithtown, NY and Leonora Petrina of Bayport, NY,  for qualifying for the 2016 United States Olympic Trials.  Petrina and Martin are both employees of the Smithtown Running Company and were presented proclamations at a press conference announcing the registration details for the inaugural Suffolk County Marathon.

Martin completed the Cal International Marathon after having previously suffered from a femoral stress fracture that forced him to drop out of the Boston Marathon just ten days prior to the event. Determined to give it one more try, he spent about nine weeks preparing for the Cal International race post recovery. With the support of his friends and family, including his former cross country coach at Smithtown West, Coach Carolan, who biked alongside him during many runs, he was successful. Crossing the line with a time of 2:16:38, he hit the time standard to get invited to the trials.

“You can do everything right in training but there are never any guarantees that you’ll get the results you’re hoping for on race day. There are countless variables in a marathon, so I was completely thrilled when it all came together for me,” said Martin, who also volunteers with the track team at Smithtown West High School.

Debuting in her first ever marathon, Petrina’s hard work paid off when she was the first woman to cross the finish line at the Philadelphia Marathon back in November.   “It was pretty exciting. Everything went so well and to get the win when I wasn’t expecting it just topped off an awesome day,” said Petrina. Breaking the tape at a time of 2:39:58, Petrina had not only won, but was headed to the trials as well.

Both Petrina and Martin are considering participating in the September 13^th inaugural Suffolk County Marathon & Half Marathon. Registration and more information is available at SuffolkMarathon.com.