Runners and walkers begin the 2023 Lake Placid Marathon and Half on Main Street. (News photo — Parker O’Brien)

LAKE PLACID — If Lake Placid Marathon and Half owner/operator Greg Borzilleri gets his way, the event could cover three days of racing this year instead of two.

The race, which added a 10K last year, is typically held on the second Sunday of June, which is June 9 this year. The day before from 2 to 3 p.m., a children’s run is typically held as participants and families arrive in town, many to pick up their packets, including bibs.

This year, Borzilleri is trying to persuade the Lake Placid Village Board of Trustees to approve a new Main Street Mile race on Friday evening. That decision is expected to be on the agenda of a future meeting.

Meanwhile, Borzilleri is tracking the registrations and is impressed so far with what he’s seeing — the event being six weeks out.

“I think the biggest change is the popularity of the race,” he said Monday, April 22. “We are … higher than last year.”

Cecilia Allen, of Tupper Lake, crosses the finish line while pushing her three children in a stroller during the 2023 Lake Placid Marathon and Half. (News photo — Parker O’Brien )

There were 954 signed up as of Monday, and according to his projections, that could swell to 1,500, Borzilleri said, which would be the largest field since he began operating the event in 2017 after he bought it.

“The fact that we added the 10K helped, but those numbers aren’t that big,” he said.

Only 30 people have signed up for the 10K so far this year, and 57 people signed up last year. Lake Placid’s Lisa Grigoriadis, who persuaded Borzilleri to add the 10K, finished the 2023 race in 18th place.

The biggest jump is in the full marathon category with 350 signed up as of Monday.

“So I don’t know if marathon running is coming back, but apparently it is for the Lake Placid Marathon,” Borzilleri said.

David Bea, of Cincinnati, Ohio, nears the finish line of the 2023 Lake Placid Marathon and Half. He won the marathon. (News photo — Parker O’Brien )

Last year, 269 people signed up for the full marathon, and 611 signed up for the half, according to the results.

So far, participants are signed up from 32 states, plus Washington, D.C., and three Canadian provinces: Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia. The highest concentration of participants seems to be coming from New York City, including the borough of Brooklyn, Clifton Park, Lake Placid and Ballston Spa.

Every year, the Lake Placid Marathon and Half asks participants to donate to different charities. This year, the local charities are the Educational Opportunity Fund of the Lake Placid Central School District and the Joshua Fund dog rescue. The other charities are St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and Doctors Without Borders.

All three races on Sunday — the 10K (6.2 miles), half marathon (13.1 miles) and full marathon (26.2 miles) — begin on Main Street in front of the Olympic Speedskating Oval at 8 a.m. and finish on the oval in front of the Lake Placid Middle/High School.

After racing up Main Street to Saranac Avenue, participants continue on Mirror Lake Drive around the lake, take a left on Parkside Drive, a right on Morningside Drive and continue down Sentinel Road/Route 73. This is where the courses begin to vary.

¯ 10K course: At the Adirondack Corner Store, racers turn right on Newman Road, right on Old Military Road, right on Station Street, left on Sentinel Road, left on Mill Pond Drive, right on McLenathan Avenue, right on School Street, left up the middle/high school driveway to the oval on the right, and around the oval counterclockwise to the finish line.

¯ Half/full marathon courses: After the lake portion, racers continue on Sentinel Road/Route 73, take a left on River Road, continue out-and-back with a turnaround near the end of the road and head back into the village to Mill Pond Drive (full marathoners will turn around and do another River Road loop). Like the 10K course, they take a left on Mill Pond Drive, right on McLenathan Avenue, right on School Street, left up the middle/high school driveway to the oval on the right, and around the oval counterclockwise to the finish line. The cutoff for the race is 2 p.m.

Volunteers are still needed for the races, according to Borzilleri. To volunteer, sign up on the website.

For more information and to register for the event, visit lakeplacidmarathon.com.