Bethpage-Tribune_1992-02-21

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YOUR OFFICIAL HOMETOWN NEWSPAPER
Senring Bethpage, Island Trees, Plainedge, Seaford, Old Bethpage and Plainview
VOL 25 NO. 15 February 21-27,1992 25 CENTS
BETHPAGE ULTRAMARATHON
The 400 meter all-weather track
at Bethpage High School has once
again been selected as the site for
the Long Island Ultramarathon
Challenge Run. The 1992 edition
of the Run will be held on Friday-
Saturday, May 8-9.
Conducted solely as a 12 Hour
Run from 1985 to 1989, this year's
Ultra will follow the pattern estab­lished
in 1990, by including both
a 24 Hour Run starting at 6:00 AM
on Friday evening the 8th, and a
12 Hour Run starting at 6:00 AM
on Saturday morning the 9th. Both
events will end at 6:00 P.M. Sat­urday
evening.
The Long Island Ultra is of
special significance, since it is
dedicated to the memory of the
late Joe Michaels, the President of
the Cardiac Runners Association.
Joe, who passed away in January
of 1987, overcame his own cardiac
problems to become aa ultran.d-rathoner
and a source of inspira­tion
to a host of cardiac patients
who, because of Joe's example,
refused to give up on life. As in
the past, the net proceeds of the
Run will be divided between a
special fund for the education of
Joe's son Jason, who suffers from
spina bifida, and ASPIRE, the
special program that has been
established to provide prosthetic
devices, physical therapy, and
rehabilitation to young amputees,
most of whom have suffered the
tragedy of amputation In order to
save their lives from bone cancer.
The Run will be conducted
under the auspices of the
Plainview- Old Bethpage Road
Runners Club, and will be directed
by Mindy Lerner, assisted by a
staff of qualified POBRRC lap
counters and other officials. Also
serving on the Race Committee
will be POBRRC President Mike
Poiansky, Nick Palazzo, Gina
Gelman, Don Butchin, Peter Fire­stone,
Steve Klemes, Larry David­son,
Nancy Ackley, and Alan End.
The event will be TAC sanctioned.
The Run was conducted at
Syosset High School from 1985
through 1989, and at Plainview
High School In 1990, but race
organizers were enthusiastic
about the switch to Bethpage in
1991 and the return to Bethpage
in 1992. "This is a great track in
a great setting in a great commun­ity,"
noted Race Director Lerner.
"We couldn't have made a better
choice!" Lerner also pointed to the
enthusiastic support the event is
receiving from local businessmen
such as Gary Bretton of Bretton's
Delicatessen and Dennis Brady of
Jacques Caterers.
Registration in the 24 Hour Run
will be limited to 25 runners, and
registration in the 12 Hour Run will
be limited to 40 runners. Race
organizers are once again plan­ning
to attract a mix of elite
ultramarathoners and strong local
runners who are looking to grad­uate
into the ultramarathon ranks.
"We expect the most of the met­ropolitan
area's top ultramara­thoners
will be on hand once again
this year," observed POBRRC
President Poiansky, "but we are
also interested in affording an
opportunity to strong local
runners who want to test their
endurance ability for the first time
in a race of this sort."
The registration fee is $25.00 for
the 12 Hour Run and $35.00 for
the 24 Hour Run. All registrants
will receive a special commemor­ative
shirt and cap. Awards will be
presented to every competitor,
with special awards to the top male
and top female finishers and to the
top Masters male and female
finishers in the 12 and 24 Hour
Runs. Refreshments will be avail­able
throughout the day, and
spectators are encouraged to
attend and to urge the competitors
on.
Jim Czachor of Franklin Square
and Ray Moore of Denver, Colo­rado
won the 1985 edition of the
12 Hour Run, Nathan Whiting of
Brooklyn and Marge Kroeger of
Syosset were the 1986 champions,
Bethpage endurance athlete Tom Podolsky was one of the elite entrants
in last year's Ultra and is expected to return this year as well.
and Luis Rios of BrooKiyn and
Janet Johnson of Medford, New
Jersey were the 1987 winners.
Steve Schiller of New Britain,
Connecticut set a new record of
83.5 miles in 1988, as Janet John­son
won the women's division for
the second straight year. Schiller
repeated as the winner in 1989,
and Jericho grandmother Julie
Shapiro was the women's cham­pion.
Nathan Whiting of Brooklyn
logged 117 3/4 miles to win the
inaugural 24 Hour Run in 1990,
with Donna McGovern of Lyn-brook
taking women's honors with
94 miles. Byron Lane of St. James
and Ruth Greher of Manhattan
took top honors in the 1990 12
Hour Run. Last year, Nick Palazzo
of Lindenhurst and Luis Rios of
Brooklyn shared top honors in the
24 Hour Run with 106 1/4 miles
each, while Donna McGovern
outlasted all competitors of both
sexes to win the 12 Hour Run with
a new women's race record of
74.25 miles. Each event included
a number of runners who were
competing in their first
ultramarathon.
"All of our previous ultramara-thons
were unqualified successes,
and we expect our eighth effort to
be even more successful now that
we've fully settled in to this great
facility of Bethpage High School/'
noted Race Director Lerner. "An
Ultramarathon Run is not for
everyone, but we are proud to be
able to provide a quality event for
those who are interested in putting
their physical and mental abilities
to this kind of test. We are also
proud to be able to prove once
again that Long Island Is among
the top running and fitness areas
in the country. This Run is a fitting
tribute to the memory of an excep­tional
human being, Joe
Michaels."
For applications or more infor
mation, or to volunteer to help out
at this exciting eve/it. call Mindy
Lerner at (516) 576-3112 or Mike
Poiansky at (516) 433-0919.