Sunday, November 2nd, marks the running of the 38th annual NYC Marathon, which will take runners from their Fort Wadsworth staging area in Staten Island, across the Verrazano Bridge, and into the open embrace of Bay Ridge – as runners enter the first leg of the 26.2 mile race.

Among the 100,000 runners will be Bay Ridge’s own, NYC Firefighter, Matthew Long.

Three years ago while riding his bike to work at the Randall’s Island FDNY training facility during the NYC Transit strike, Long was critically injured when hit by a charter bus carrying Bear Stern employees, crushing Long’s pelvis and leg – leaving him with what, at the time, was a a grim prognosis for survival, much less recovery.

After a grueling three year rehab stint, nearly a month of which was spent in a coma – Long will run Sunday’s 26.2 mile race.

“I wanted to be an athlete again and I wanted to be myself again… I’m not looking to be a hero, but I know I can be a role model,” Long tells the Daily News.

Long, whose accident left him with one leg 3/4 of an inch shorter than the other, walks with a pronounced limp, but Long has successfully regained his endurance, and began running in Arizona this past April.

Long is the son of Kings County Conservative Party chairman, and renowned Bay Ridge civic leader, Michael Long.

The ING NYC Marathon kicks off for professional men’s elite around 9:30am, with an early start for disabled runners beginning as early as 7:30am – of which Long is expected to be a part, according to the Eagle.

(photos courtesy: elbarriosbravest.com, and NYDailyNews)