Farmingdale females were out in force on July 12, to represent their hometown at the 31st annual Long Island Women’s 5 kilometer run sponsored by the Runner’s Edge and the Greater Long Island Running Club.
Bob Cook, who owns the Runner’s Edge shoe and sports apparel store on Main Street, said that attendance at this year’s race was the highest in the race’s history, with more than 500 women competing for the grand prize.
According to Cook, over the years, the race has attracted the likes of world-class runners and Olympians from all over the state, racing for the $500 grand prize.
“A lot of ladies who win races around Long Island show up for it,” Cook said. Among this year’s winners Jessica Mangieri, 17, was the top finisher from Farmingdale, with a final run time of 21 minutes,
48 seconds, earning her the distinction of finishing twenty-eighth overall and fourth in the highly competitive 15-19 age bracket.
Five other Farmingdale women would not leave empty handed either. Stephanie Birkl, 13, and Jenna Cottone, 12, finished in third and fourth place respectively in the 11-14 age group; Joan Ackerman took fourth in the 65-69 age group, Jessica Delguercio, who took fifth place honors in the Athena 160 pound plus weight division and Maryann Harvey, who scored third among the masters Race Walkers.
Leading up to the race, Nassau County Legislator Rose Marie Walker and the Greater Long Island Running Club’s Amy Goldstein held a fun run for kids 12 and under, which sent about 30 youngsters once around the Farmingdale High School track.
“We were thrilled to have so many of our Farmingdale friends being part of this year’s run,” said Race Director Debbie Blair.
“Farmingdale is a terrific venue for an important event like this one, and its nice to see so many locals participating in the event once again this year,” she said.
Each year, the top three runners overall receive accolades as well as the top runners in each of the 26 age brackets. This year, Jodie Robertson of Melville claimed the grand prize, finishing with the fastest overall time of 17 minutes and 7 seconds. Leonora Petrina of Bayport and Laura Cummings of Bayshore took second and third overall respectively.
All of the proceeds raised by the Long Island Women’s 5k go to The Opening Word, a charitable program managed by the Domonican Sisters to give poor immigrant women English-speaking skills and other tools they need to become productive members of society. For more detail go to theopeningword.org.
While it is too early to determine how much was raised in this year’s race, the Greater Long Island Running Club has previously donated about $2,500 from the Women’s 5k run alone.
