Runners, walkers and wheelchair athletes of every age and level of ability are invited to be part of the inaugural Lovenox Five Mile Race for Cardiac Wellness. The Run will be held on Sunday morning, Oct. 31, starting and finishing at Nassau County's Cantiague Park on East John Street in Hicksville, with the starting gun going off exactly at 9 a.m.

The race will be sponsored by Rhone-Poulenc Rorer Pharmaceuticals, Inc. on behalf of its Lovenox (enoxaparin sodium) injection product for heart disease, with the entire net proceeds going to the American Heart Association. The theme for both the race and for Lovenox is "Every Second Counts...Every Person Counts."

The race will be managed by the Greater Long Island Running Club under the direction of Club President Mike Polansky. Technical direction will be provided by David Katz of Finish Line Road Race Technicians. Scoring will be by the new "ChampionChip System." New York State Assemblyman Mark Herbst, whose district encompasses Hicksville, will be on hand to help present the awards to the top finishers in the race.

The runners, walkers and wheelchair athletes will be covering a carefully measured two loop course through the Kuhl Avenue/Gardner Avenue/Burns Avenue/Princess Street section of Hicksville.

Awards will be presented to the top male and female runners overall, to the top three males and females in each of 14 five-year-age groups, starting with 14 and under and running through 75 and older; and to the top three male and female wheelchair athletes. There will also be a special "Medical Division" with awards being presented to the first three male and female physicians to cross the finish line as well as the first three male and female finishers in a special category for nurses, physicians assistants, and registered pharmacists. Everyone who registers will receive a special commemorative T-shirt.

The race will be part of the KeySpan Grand Prix Series of road races conducted under the auspices of Long Island Track & Field, and entrants will be eligible to earn Grand Prix points through their performances in the race.

The registration fee is $16 for those who register in advance, and $20 for those who register on the day of the race.

"We are happy to be holding such an important race in a sports-minded community like Hicksville," commented Greater Long Island Running Club Vice President Mindy Davidson, and are equally happy to be helping out such an important cause as cardiac wellness and such an important organization as the American Heart Association. I hope that everyone who is into personal health and fitness will be joining us at Cantiague Park on Oct. 31."

For more information and/or entry forms for the inaugural Lovenox Five Mile Race For Cardiac Wellness, call the Greater Long Island Running Club at 349-7646.