The weather was pretty frightful on the morning of Dec. 20 on the streets of Bethpage, but that didn't stop over 600 athletes from making their way to the finish line at the John F. Kennedy Middle School.

Franklin Diaz wins it.

Franklin Diaz of Farmingdale certainly had the holiday spirit, as he coasted to his 22nd overall win of the 2008 racing year, with a time of 17:12. Chris Daily of South Farmingdale was fourth and scored as the first Masters finisher.

Another Farmingdale runner winning an award in the Ho Ho Ho Run was Joan Ackerman, who earned second-place honors among the women in the 65-69 age group.

Race Director Ric DiVeglio of the host Greater Long Island Running Club did another outstanding job putting all the pieces together, with the help of Coordinator of Volunteers Mindy Davidson, Logistics Director Bob Sherman, Finish Line Coordinator Fred von der Heydt, Announcer Extraordinaire Terry Bisogno, and several dozen volunteers who braved some pretty nasty conditions to help out.

The title sponsor was intellectual property law firm of Carter, DeLuca, Farrell & Schmidt, LLP and the presenting sponsor was Local 338 RWDSU/UFCU.