There is simply no better way for runners and their families to celebrate the holiday season than by being part of the fun at the Carter, DeLuca, Farrell & Schmidt Holiday 5 Kilometer Run, and on Saturday morning, Dec. 20, the run will be celebrating its 27th anniversary edition at the John F. Kennedy Middle School in Bethpage. The run will start at 9:30 a.m. on Broadway in Bethpage.
Thanks to the generosity of the Melville Intellectual Property law firm of Carter, DeLuca, Farrell & Schmidt and Local 338 RWDSU/UFCW, this year’s edition of the run will offer all the great amenities of past years….and more.
Race Director Ric DiVeglio of the Greater Long Island Running Club will be joining lots of volunteers to stage another spectacular morning of family fitness and fun. Santa Claus will once again be there as the official starter, and hordes of reindeer, elves and other denizens of the holiday season will be at the middle school to make sure that a good time will be had by all.
There will once again be special prizes for the best holiday costume and for the first “centipede” to cross the finish line. Runners and walkers are most definitely encouraged to run/walk in costumes appropriate for the season.
The 5K will be preceded by a free Fun Run for the youngsters on the grounds of the middle school at 8:45 a.m.
There will once again be a giant post-race door prize drawing that will be highlighted by the grand prize of a flat screen, high-definition television set and the second prize of a top-of-the-line digital camera. Everyone who is entered in the run has an equal chance to win a prize.
There is a brand new one-loop course planned for 2014, which the event organizers anticipate will be more appealing to runners than the course used in past years.
The entry fee is $21 for those who preregister and $25 for those who register on the day of the run. Please note that this year’s Ho Ho Ho Run will carry forward the GLIRC policy of a 50 percent discount for preregistered runners age 16 and under.
A portion of the net proceeds of the run will be turned over to The Opening Word, an education program for poor, uneducated women to give them the tools that they need to become productive members of society.
Please bring a new unwrapped toy to the run to benefit local children in need. Toys will be donated to the John Theissen Children’s Foundation.
Register for the run online at www.glirc.org or call Mike or Linda at the Greater Long Island Running Club office at 516-349-7646 for a hard copy entry form.
