Runners gathered on the Long Beach Boardwalk at 8:47 a.m. Friday, after a moment of silence at 8:46 a.m. From there, they set off on a 34.3-mile course that would carry them across three bridges—the Atlantic Beach, Marine Park, and Manhattan bridges—through Queens and Brooklyn, and finally to the 9/11 Memorial in Lower Manhattan, honoring the 343 FDNY firefighters killed that day in 2001.
The event, known as 34.3 for the 343, is now in its sixth year, according to News12 New York. This year's run included an opening ceremony, a moment of silence at 8:46 a.m., and a mix of active and retired FDNY members running alongside volunteers and an FDNY bike support team. The course itself, published by the 34.3 Foundation, begins at Skudin Surf on the Long Beach Boardwalk and crosses the Atlantic Beach, Marine Park, and Manhattan bridges before finishing at the World Trade Center memorial.
The run traces back to a single firefighter, and a single act of grief. Etan Blatt, an active FDNY firefighter assigned to Ladder 134 in Far Rockaway, initiated the run before the 21st anniversary, with a friend accompanying him by bicycle, according to background reported by the Newsday. He had mapped the route on his phone just weeks before that 20th anniversary, and he later made the run into a charity and was registering it as an official nonprofit, according to Newsday and the Long Island Herald.
A Firehouse Safety Net Built From One Run
Blatt grew up spending summers in Long Beach and later bought a home in nearby East Atlantic Beach, ties that helped anchor the annual run in Nassau County. He joined the FDNY as an EMT in 2008 before graduating from the fire academy in 2013, according to the same Newsday reporting.
What began as a personal tribute has since become an organized support system. The foundation says its fundraiser helps firefighters' families when they need help. The foundation says it has provided more than $250,000 in support to FDNY members, families, and firehouses since its founding, according to News12 New York.
Why Long Beach Carries the Weight of 9/11
The choice of Long Beach as a starting point is not incidental. A Nassau County memorial list includes 344 people under a broad eligibility definition, according to Nassau County Government. The Nassau County document also lists victims of the September 11 attacks.
The foundation's local roots run deep in other ways too. In October 2025, the 34.3 Foundation served as Grand Marshal for the 36th Annual Saint Brendan The Navigator Irish Day Parade in Long Beach's West End, the Long Island Herald reported.
The Toll That Keeps Climbing
The run's 34.3-mile framing honors a number frozen in time, but the FDNY's losses have not stopped growing. As of September 2026, over 600 FDNY members have died from certified World Trade Center-related illnesses since 2001, nearly doubling the 343 firefighters killed on the day of the attacks, according to Fire & Safety Journal Americas. Department tracking indicates more than 12,000 exposed FDNY personnel have at least one certified 9/11-related medical condition.
Just over a week before this year's run, on September 2, the FDNY added 36 names of members who died over the past year from Ground Zero toxic exposure to its World Trade Center Memorial Wall at FDNY Headquarters at 9 MetroTech Center in Brooklyn, according to a statement from the FDNY. The 36 inductees were members who died from Ground Zero-related illnesses.
Nationally, the health crisis extends well beyond FDNY ranks. The federal World Trade Center Health Program includes approximately 75,000 first responders and 20,000 other survivors, or about 95,000 people total, according to CBS News reporting cited by Hoodline's earlier coverage of a Lower Manhattan bar's tribute to 9/11 responders.
A Fight Over Records That Won't Go Away
Even as the run honored the dead, the department's history of toxic exposure provided broader context for the anniversary.
Against that backdrop, grassroots efforts like Blatt's foundation carry a dual purpose: preserving memory of the 343 lost on 9/11 while trying to meet the ongoing needs of a fire service still absorbing losses a quarter-century later. This year's run through Long Beach, across three bridges, and into Lower Manhattan stood as both anniversary tribute and a working reminder that, for many FDNY families, the crisis never really ended.
