The featured speaker at the Sept. 21 Open Meeting of the Greater Long Island Running Club will be Amy Palmiero-Winters, a Hicksville resident who recently was awarded the ESPY as the best female athlete with a disability.
The event will be held in the auditorium of the Plainview-Old Bethpage Public Library, 999 Old Country Road in Plainview, starting promptly at 8 p.m. on Sept. 21.
A below-knee amputee whose left leg was destroyed in a 1994 motorcycle accident, Amy has become perhaps the most accomplished female athlete of her generation. In the past year alone, she was the overall winner of the Dec. 31 through Jan. 1 “Run to the Future” 24-Hour Run in Glendale, AZ, where she logged 130.4 miles to earn herself a place on Team USA for the World 24-Hour Championship in Brieve, France. In July, she became the first amputee athlete to successfully complete the Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run, finishing this tough course through the Sierra Nevada Mountains in 27 hours, 43 minutes, 10 seconds. She has set world records for amputee women runners at 50 kilometers, 50 miles, 100 kilometers, 100 miles and 24 hours.
Amy was awarded the James E. Sullivan Award as America’s top amateur athlete by the Amateur Athletic Union in April, and on July 14 she joined with such other notable athletes as Drew Brees, Kobe Bryant and Phil Mickelson to accept her ESPY at the Nokia Center in Los Angeles.
Residing in Hicksville with her son Carson, 6, and daughter Madilynn, 5, Amy serves as sports director for A Step Ahead, working with youngsters with disabilities and encouraging them to follow in her footsteps to the best of their abilities.
The Greater Long Island Running Club’s Greenbelt Trail 50-Kilometer Run was Amy’s first ultra-marathon, so it is especially fitting that she celebrate her 2010 accomplishments by addressing the Club in September.
The general public is cordially invited to attend the Sept. 21st meeting. For more information, contact Mike or Linda at the Greater Long Island Running Club at 349-7646.
