Hicksville's Don Di Donato was the sixth finisher from overall and the first finisher over the age of 40 as nearly 600 runners from all over Long Island and beyond successfully completed the 14th Annual Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor's Oyster Festival 5 Kilometer Run on Saturday, Oct. 19.

Di Donato, 45, was the first finisher from Hicksville and the Town of Oyster Bay to cross the finish line with a time of 16:50. Other Hicksville runners winning awards included Joe Basso, who took third in the 20-24 age group in 19:35; Brian Decker, who scored fourth in the 25-39 age group in 20:15; and 15-year-old Sara Viola who scored fifth place honors in the 15-19 age group in 30:50.

A highly competitive field that included virtually every top runner from Long Island was led to the finish line at Fireman's Field by Will Fetting of the Greater Long Island Running Club (GLIRC), who came from 4th place at the two mile mark on Oyster Bay-Glen Cove Road to score as the first place finisher in 16 minutes, 18 seconds. Finishing against the backdrop of the Oyster Festival carnival rides, the top 12 finishers all broke 17 minutes and the first 27 finishers all finished under the 18-minute mark. Top female finisher was Northport superstar Kathy Martin in 18:33.

The Oyster Bay 5 Kilometer course is not an easy one, including as it does a steep 3/4 mile climb up "Planting Fields Hill" followed by a quad-jarring 3/4 mile descent back down that same hill. The event was conducted under the direction of the Greater Long Island Running Club and technical support furnished by Finish Line Road Race Technicians. The primary sponsors of the event were once again the State Bank of Long Island and the Town of Oyster Bay. Additional support was provided by Whole Foods Market of Manhasset and South Shore Outdoor.

This year's run was once again part of the KeySpan Energy Grand Prix Series of Long Island road races conducted under the auspices of Long Island Track & Field (LITF). October is National Breast Cancer Month, and Terry Kelly of KeySpan and LITF President Susan Polansky presented a check for $1,000 to the Maurer Foundation for Breast Health Education in honor of the occasion.