The Plainview-Old Bethpage community came together last week for the 16th annual Heart & Sole five-kilometer run.
Jossi Fritz-Mauer of Old Bethpage turned in an especially strong performance on a blisteringly hot morning to win. This was the second consecutive year that the 35-year-old has been the overall winner of this race. He crossed the finish line at the Plainview-Old Bethpage Middle School in 17 minutes and 46 seconds (17:46), 18 seconds in front of runner-up 15-year-old Brandon Meiner of East Northport.
Shari Klarfeld of Plainview turned in an equally strong performance to take first place honors among the women in 20 minutes and 25 seconds, catching and passing Lena Edelstein of Old Bethpage at the three-mile mark to win by four seconds. It was the second consecutive year that Edelstein was the second female finisher in this race.
Other local runners winning awards in the Heart & Sole 5K included Hannah Slomovicz, Ava Nargentino, Bradley Nanoo, Jordan Schechter, Olivia Taubenfeld, Stacianne Lester, Robin Allen, Mario Hendershot, Marc Sonneberg, Aaron Billig, Alicia Friedman, Craig Lerman, Allison Katz, Howard Sitomer, Robert Pickus, Ken Olson, Kimberly Schechter, Karen Friedman, Judith Brenner, David Brenner, Marc Schechter, Christina Eichhorn and Michael Fener, all of whom reside in Plainview.
The 5K was preceded by a quarter-mile “Fun Run” on the middle school track.
The entire net proceeds of the Heart & Sole Run are dedicated to outreach and scholarship programs at Plainview Hospital and Syosset Hospital.
Race management chores were handled once again by the Greater Long Island Running Club (GLIRC), with Karen Schackner serving as the Race Director. The club wants to thank Fener, the executive director of Northwell Health System’s Plainview and Syosset Hospitals, and Dr. Alan Mensch, senior vice president of Medical Affairs at Plainview and Syosset Hospitals, for making the event a reality again this year, and to Christine Patti of the Hospitals’ staff for her dedicated support in making it all happen. Schackner said afterwards that despite the rough weather ahead, her team was more than ready for it.
“Anything can happen on any race day so we always have contingency plans,” said Schackner. “However, with the extreme weather forecast, we were actually in a more optimal situation than usual because we knew exactly what we were going to need to do. It was a true team effort and everyone involved gave it all of their ‘heart’ to make sure that every ‘sole’ had a safe, fun and successful morning.”
The club also wants to thank Nassau County Legislators Rose Marie Walker and Arnold Drucker for being on hand to support the efforts. After the event, Legislator Drucker took to Facebook to thank everyone for being there.
“Congratulations to all who participated in [the run] this morning,” said Drucker “So much fun kicking off the race. Thank you to the staff and volunteers at Northwell and the GLIRC who made today’s run a huge success. I also had the privilege of honoring the Plainview Volunteer Fire Department and the Syosset Volunteer Fire Department for their continued heroism and leadership in our communities.”
There were also plenty of sponsors the club was thankful for as, without them, the event could not have been staged. The long list of sponsors was headed by Cold Spring Hills Nursing & Rehabilitation; Central Island Health Care; Kravet; Modern Sprinkler Corporation; Long Island Suffolk Center for Speech; RPG Wealth Management Inc.; Wagner, Doman, Leto & Di Leo, P.C.; Dr. Alan Mensch; Dr. Isaac Alamuri; Infertility Associates of Long Island; and Naot Footwear.
