Annual Fun Run Set for Saturday

For nearly a quarter of a century, Long Island local runners, walkers  and their families have known that there’s no better way to celebrate the Holiday season than by being part of the fun at the .

On Saturday morning, Dec. 17, athletes from all over Long Island are invited to celebrate the 24th annual edition of this event at the John F. Kennedy Middle School in Bethpage.

Thanks to the generosity of the law firm of Carter, DeLuca, Farrell & Schmidt LLP (specializing in Intellectual Property Law) and Local 338, RWDSU/UFCW, this year's edition of the Run will offer all the great amenities of past years and more.

Race Director Ric Diveglio of the host will be joining lots of volunteers to put together another spectacular morning of family fitness and fun for everyone. Santa Claus will again be the Official Starter, and hordes of reindeer, elves and other denizens of the Holiday season will be at the Middle School to make sure that a good time is had by all.

There will be special prizes for the best Holiday costume and for the first "centipede" to cross the finish line. Runners and walkers are encouraged to run the 5 K in costumes appropriate to the season. There will be a fun run for the youngsters on the grounds of the Middle School before the 5K main event.

The Fun Run will be held at 8:45 on Saturday. The Costume Parade is 9 and the 5 Kilometer Run will start at 9:30 a.m.

There will be a GIANT post-race raffle that will be highlighted by the grand prize of a 26 inch flat screen high-definition television and the second prize of a top of the line NIKON digital camera. 

Everyone who is entered in the Run will be eligible to win!

Proceeds of this year’s Run will once again be donated to The Opening Word, an education program for poor uneducated women to give them the tools they need to become productive members of society.

There were 1059 athletes who crossed the finish line at last year’s event, including a strong local contingent led by 15 year old Tim Mahony of Syosset and 2nd woman overall . The Run Committee is hopeful that Tim and Shari will be back again this year and looks for lots of other local runners – old and new – to join in as well.

Please note that the Ho Ho Ho Run will carry forward the Running Club’s 50 percent discount policy for youngsters aged 16 and under, so that GLIRC members 16 and under can pre- register for only $8 and non-members 16 and under can pre-register for only $9.

Call Mike or Linda at the GLIRC office at (516) 349-7646 for entry forms or more information, or you can register online at www.glirc.org.  Volunteers are very much needed to be part of the fun! Contact Mindy at (516) 520-9481 or at mindyruns@aol.com.  If you use email, please put “Ho Ho Ho Run” as the subject.

One final note: Please bring a new, unwrapped to to the registration. The toys will be distributed to local kids in need by the