For Nancy Comuzzi, making the move from casual runner to marathoner has brought its challenges, she said.
A knee injury hampered the East Williston resident’s training for the Nov. 6 New York City Marathon — the first 26.2-mile race she’s ever entered — putting her out of commission for three weeks.
But Comuzzi, 47, co-owner of Siena Marble and Tile in Albertson, said it’s all worth it, as she’s running to benefit the Brookville Center for Children’s Services, the school for children with autism and other special needs that her 8-year-old daughter Carly attends.
“If these children can get up every day and battle the challenges they’ve been given in life, then I feel it’s my job to do whatever I can to help them and the school who helps them overcome these battles,” Comuzzi said. “If that means running 26.2 miles I’m going to do it if I have to crawl to the finish.”
Comuzzi is more than halfway to her goal of raising $3,000 for the Brookville Center, a state-funded school for students between ages 5 and 21 who have developmental delays or disabilities.
Carly has autism and could not speak words when she started attending the Brookville Center at age 3, Comuzzi said. But in the past year, the school’s autism program has gotten her to form some words, she said. Carly also sees an occupational therapist and a speech therapist at the center.
“They’re more than a school,” Comuzzi said. “They are really like family to us because they are involved in every step of her well-being and her growth.”
With less than a month before the marathon, Comuzzi is running about 45 miles a week, including one long run of 15 miles, she said.
Running the New York City Marathon is Comuzzi’s latest fundraising effort for the Brookville Center, which has locations in Brookville, Old Westbury, New Hyde Park, Westbury and Woodbury.
Siena Marble, which Comuzzi owns with her husband, Pablo, donates twice a year, and Comuzzi organized a T-shirt drive last year that raised $5,000, she said.
Comuzzi said she wants to help the Brookville Center keep dedicating one teacher and more than three assistants to every six children in its autism program, an approach that emphasizes individual attention, according to the school’s website.
In addition to raising money, Comuzzi wants to raise awareness about the school and the good it does, she said.
“I really want people to know what goes on in this school, that they’re the reason our children are … becoming more functional in life,” Comuzzi said.
The public can support Comuzzi in the marathon by donating to the Brookville Center online at youcaring.com/brookville-center-for-children-s-services-611028.
