{"id":371036,"date":"2026-10-12T15:08:12","date_gmt":"2026-10-12T15:08:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/371036\/"},"modified":"2026-10-12T15:08:12","modified_gmt":"2026-10-12T15:08:12","slug":"greenport-runner-takes-on-nyc-marathon-to-support-alzheimers-fight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/371036\/","title":{"rendered":"Greenport runner takes on NYC Marathon to support Alzheimer\u2019s fight"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDeja Hursey will be running the New York City Marathon to raise awareness for Alzheimer\u2019s. (Credit: Courtesy Deja Hursey)\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

When Deja Hursey lines up for the New York City Marathon on Nov. 1, the Greenport resident will be running 26.2 miles for a cause that has touched her own family: Alzheimer\u2019s disease.<\/p>\n

Ms. Hursey, a Peconic Landing employee, will run on behalf of the Alzheimer\u2019s Association, raising money and awareness for a disease that claimed her great-grandmother and later affected her step-aunt.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo be able to fight for a cause and show awareness is unbelievable,\u201d Ms. Hursey said. \u201cI am truly honored and grateful to be a part of it. It\u2019s very fulfilling.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ms. Hursey, 29, grew up in Maryland. She was about 5 when her great-grandmother, Florence Brown, was diagnosed with Alzheimer\u2019s at the age of 75.<\/p>\n

Ms. Brown lived with the disease for more than a decade, becoming increasingly forgetful and requiring significant assistance. She died at 86.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember being young and not understanding the toll of the disease,\u201d she said. \u201cIt really took a toll on the family, and I saw that as such a young kid.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then, five years ago, her step-aunt was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia at 55. The disease progresses rapidly and forced her to medically retire from her job with the Federal Reserve.<\/p>\n

Now 60, she is being cared for by Ms. Hursey\u2019s grandparents.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve seen it in the later stages of life, in an 80-year-old woman, my great-grandmother, and then in a 50-year-old person who was very smart, educated, a mother of three,\u201d Ms. Hursey said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Peconic Landing\u2019s annual Walk to End Alzheimer\u2019s. (Credit: Courtesy Deja Hursey)<\/p>\n

Since joining Peconic Landing as a recruitment coordinator in 2024, Ms. Hursey has also worked closely with the Alzheimer\u2019s Association. The Greenport retirement community hosts\u00a0an annual two-mile walk<\/a>\u00a0to raise money and awareness for the disease.<\/p>\n

The walk is organized by the association\u2019s Long Island chapter, and is part of a year-long effort to raise $140,000. So far this year, over $120,000 has been raised.<\/p>\n

Ms. Hursey ran her first marathon in May, the Long Island Marathon at Eisenhower Park in East Meadow. She got the itch to do it again.<\/p>\n

When she learned she could run for a cause, the idea took hold.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I thought about a charity that I feel connected to, and that I want to be a part of their journey, I immediately thought, \u2018I would love to support the Alzheimer\u2019s Association and run for them,\u2019\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

She submitted her paperwork over the summer but was initially waitlisted.<\/p>\n

Rather than wait for an answer, Ms. Hursey began training for the 51st annual Marine Corps Marathon, slated for Sunday, Oct. 25, which winds through Arlington, Va., and Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n

By the first week of August, she was well into that training plan when she learned she had been accepted into the New York City Marathon.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was like basically one week off the plan,\u201d she said. \u201c But I decided I have to do New York City. That opportunity doesn\u2019t come often.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Her family and friends will be stationed along the route at several mile markers to cheer her on.<\/p>\n

The Alzheimer\u2019s Association immediately sent her care packages with pamphlets, bib pins and branded items, like a New Balance racer top.<\/p>\n

\u201cI will definitely be decked out in Alzheimer\u2019s gear,\u201d she laughed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Deja Hursey will be running the New York City Marathon to raise awareness for Alzheimer\u2019s. (Credit: Courtesy Deja…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":371037,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[136838,136839,91536,9,2790,56,63,65,64,136840,2578,132689],"class_list":["post-371036","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york-city","tag-alzheimers-association","tag-deja-hursey","tag-greenport","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city-marathon","tag-ny","tag-nyc","tag-nyc-headlines","tag-nyc-news","tag-peconic-landing","tag-premium","tag-walk-to-end-alzheimers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/371036","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=371036"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/371036\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/371037"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=371036"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=371036"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=371036"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}