Dan McGrath of Sunnyside scored his 12th overall victory of the year, Katie DiPietro of Floral Park took top honors among the women and Peter Hawkins of Malverne completed yet another wheelchair win, as beautiful skies and brisk temperatures greeted the competitors in the 23rd annual Carter, DeLuca, Farrell & Schmidt Ho Ho Ho Holiday Run on Dec. 18. A total of 1060 runners, walkers and wheelchair athletes navigated the streets of Bethpage before crossing the finish line at the John F. Kennedy Middle School.
A strong contingent of runners from Hicksville did exceptionally well in this year’s Run. The first Hicksville finisher to cross the finish line was Kevin Kremler, who finished in 21 minutes, 58 seconds, followed closely by 27-year-old Sujata Pandya, who took top honors in the Athena 160-pound weight division in 22:08.
Notwithstanding the great performances of the leading runners, the big emphasis of the day was on families, with lots of mother-daughter, mother-son, father-son and father-daughter duos making their way through the course, and lots of youngsters participating in the free fun run that preceded the main event.
Congratulations and thanks to Ric Diveglio of the Greater Long Island Running Club for serving so competently and enthusiastically as the Race Director once again, to the Melville Intellectual Property Law Firm of Carter, DeLuca, Farrell & Schmidt that was the title sponsor once again, and to Local 338 RWDSU/UFCW for also providing a big financial boost.
Thanks to John Snitko of JMS Racing Services for his quick and accurate results and for being so easy to work with, and to Logistics Coordinator Fred von der Heydt and Race Announcer Terry Bisogno for still another outstanding day’s work.
Proceeds from the event will be turned over to The Opening Word, an education program conducted by the Dominican Sisters for poor and uneducated Long Island women to give them the tools they need to become productive members of society.
Thanks go to Oyster Bay Town Supervisor John Venditto and Nassau County Legislators Joe Belesi and Rose Marie Walker for being on hand to welcome the participants to the finish line.
