Congratulations to 27-year-old Katie Di Pietro of Floral Park, who scored as the first woman overall in the 23rd annual Carter, DeLuca, Farrell & Schmidt Ho Ho Ho Holiday Run on Dec. 18. Katie crossed the finish line at the John F. Kennedy Middle School in Bethpage in 19 minutes, 3 seconds, 35 seconds in front of her nearest rival, 30-year-old Shari Klarfeld of Plainview.
Also winning an award at the Ho Ho Ho Run was 29-year-old Floral Park speedster Leigh Cursio, who took third place honors among the women in the 25-29 age group, with a time of 24 minutes, 24 seconds.
A total of 1,060 runners, walkers and wheelchair athletes navigated the streets of Bethpage before crossing the finish line.
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 though 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.
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.
