Terry Bisogno, a longtime sports announcer known as “The Voice of Long Island Running and Racing,” for his work with the Long Island marathon, died on Sunday. He was 68.
Bisogno announced over 1,000 local races, and had been nationally recognized for his efforts. Bisogno was known for researching as much about the runners as possible prior to announcing the races.
Bisogno died of colon cancer, after a lengthy battle that inspired a GoFundMe campaign to help pay for treatments. The campaign, which was launched in January, had a $60,000 goal — and ended up making $84,671.
“Terry Bisogno is a pillar in the world of racing and endurance sports as well as the Long Island Community at large,” Rich Sallustro, founder of the campaign, wrote. “Terry has been known to spend hours upon hours of his own time researching and memorizing little-known facts and stats about every athlete to make the feeling of crossing that finish line even more memorable. There are countless stories of how Terry has made somebody feel so special with a unique shoutout or compliment at the finish line; now is our chance to show him how special he is to us.”
Supporters of the campaign were quick to share kind words and memories of Bisogno when the campaign went live.
“This man is the best thing that ever happened to Long Island road racing,” Mike Baard, a contributor to the campaign, wrote. “A true caring and super knowledgeable professional. Absolutely love the guy.”
In addition to the GoFundMe campaign, a Facebook group was formed in support of Bisogno as well. When news of his death became public, people were quick to express their condolences.
“I always felt that Terry was a special friend of mine,” Marianne Beatty Zacharia wrote in the Facebook group. “He always made me feel special. He shared things with me that perhaps he didn’t share with other people about his personal life, career and his health. He always knew my PR’s and cheered me on in every single race. When I became the race Director for the Northport Veterans Day race, he worked with me as the announcer. As we all know, he always did his homework. There was nothing that would keep him from knowing everything about every person that was running in that race. I will miss him so much as I know we all will. He was truly special.”
In July, hundreds of runners walked and ran a route that passed Bisogno’s North Massapequa home in support of him.
Terry Bisogno is survived by his sister, Bonnie Bisogno-Salsone.
A memorial service will be held for Terry Bisogno on August 12 from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Christopher T. Jordan Funeral Home in Island Park, with a prayer service taking place at 6.
