All participants in the 2010 Runner’s Edge TOBAY Triathlon and their families and friends have been invited to join the members of the North Shore Assembly of God on Saturday, August 28, for a special prayer service for “safety and blessing.” The service starts at 1 p.m. and will be entirely interfaith and ecumenical, so no one of any faith should feel uncomfortable in attending.
Mike Polansky, president of the Greater Long Island Running Club sent an email to members inviting them to attend and said, “My guess is that we will get anywhere from 25 to 50 folks showing up. We very much appreciate the fact that the North Shore Assembly of God has invited us to a special service. Although you can be certain that we are making every effort to ensure the safety of the bike course and of the athletes generally, a little bit of prayer can never hurt.”
Pastor Ray Melograne, got the idea of holding the service after he and his wife, Pastor Diane Melograne saw a bicycle accident unfold before their eyes.
The Rev. Diane Melograne said she and her husband witnessed an accident on Berry Hill Road on a Sunday morning. “We take Berry Hill Road to get here. We saw a bicyclist ahead of us down the road, who was in the middle of the intersection when a car turned in and hit him. His bike was thrown over. We were the first car to stop. My husband and another biker put a tourniquet on the man. My husband prayed over him. The bleeding stopped. Atlantic Steamer Chief Ty Jiminez came by, in his own chief’s car even before the ambulance from the Oyster Bay Fire Co. No. 1, arrived. They took the man away in their ambulance and we started to think of the safety of the cyclists.
“It is dangerous for these people to be practicing on the roads.
“The cyclist in the accident got in touch with my husband. He was looking to find him to thank him, and he and a group are coming to the interfaith prayer service for the safety of the athletes.”
Rev. Diane Melograne said a friend of theirs who is the pastor of a church on Shelter Rock Road is a cyclist and he was telling them about how fast they go and said he has lost a few friends in the cycling sport. “He will also be at the service with us,” she said.
Mr. Polansky said, “The biggest thing to do for bike safety is to alert drivers that there are other people on the road including cyclists and runners. People should pay more attention to those they share the roads with.”
He said everybody loves to race on the north shore because of the hills. “The course we use is a great course and the athletes come all summer long to train and to bike and to stay in Oyster Bay and spend money,” added Mr. Polansky.
And they don’t have a problem with parking since they mostly come by bike.
Besides training on the hills of the north shore, he said cyclists often use the bike paths by the Wantagh Parkway and at Bethpage State Park.
Ms. Melograne shared Mr. Polansky’s feeling about sharing the roads. She said, “We do realize we still have to worry about their safety. We do share the roads with these people.”
The North Shore Assembly of God is located at 84 Orchard St., Oyster Bay. For more information call them at 922-2547. For more information about the GLIRC, please call Mike or Linda at the office at 349-7646.
The TOB Triathlon
The next day, Sunday, Aug. 29, the Oyster Bay hamlet and surrounding areas will once again be hosting the Runner’s Edge – Town of Oyster Bay Triathlon, a multi-sport event with 1500 athletes participating.
They start at Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Park in Oyster Bay. The event includes a ½ mile swim in Oyster Bay Harbor, a 15 kilometer bike through Oyster Bay Cove and Laurel Hollow, and a 5 kilometer run up to the Planting Fields Arboretum, and back to the exciting finish at Roosevelt Park.
Newly Designed Course
Both the bike and run course of this year’s triathlon have been changed in order to minimize the inconvenience to local residents. The newly designed bike course will avoid South Street entirely, and make it possible for churchgoers and others to drive up South Street to Townsend Square without difficulty. The run course will finish with the participants heading up Lake Avenue and straight up West Shore Road to a right turn into the back end of Beekman Beach with a 300 yard straightaway to the finish, eliminating the need to go onto Bayside Avenue and cross the LIRR tracks to the finish.
Good luck and good health to all the athletes!
