Massapequa and Farmingdale area runners, walkers and wheelchair athletes of all ages and levels of ability are cordially invited to enter the 21st annual Nationwide Insurance 10 Kilometer Run for ASPIRE, to be held on the roads of Plainview-Old Bethpage on Saturday morning, April 4.

The 1998 edition of the run is dedicated to the memory of Stanley Kramberg, the Nationwide Insurance agent who devoted so much of his time, energy and money to the run and to the ASPIRE program generally over the past several years. Stan lost his courageous battle to cancer last summer, and the proceeds of this year's run will be used to establish the Stanley Kramberg Memorial ASPIRE Scholarship Fund to help the young amputee graduates of the ASPIRE program further their education.

The ASPIRE run is being hosted once again by the Plainview-Old Bethpage Road Runners Club, with the assistance and support of the Town of Oyster Bay Department of Recreation and Parks. In addition to Nationwide Insurance, acting through the Anthony Wiszowaty Agency, other financial assistance is being provided by the real estate management firm RGE, Inc. and by Vytra Healthcare.

The 1998 Nationwide Run for ASPIRE will begin and finish at the H.B. Mattlin Middle School, located on Washington Avenue in Plainview. The starting gun will go off promptly at 9 a.m. on the morning of April 4. There will also be a special 1/2 mile fun run for youngsters age 12 and under starting at 8:12 a.m., and a 10 Kilometer racewalk starting at 9:05 a.m.

"Athletes from Farmingdale and the Massapequas have traditionally been among the top competitors in the Nationwide Insurance 10K Run, including Patty Zebersky of Farmingdale, who was the first female Masters finisher in 1997, Margaret O'Hare of Massapequa, who took top honors among the 15 to 19-year-old women and Scott Sullivan of Massapequa, who was the 1997 "Clydesdale" champion, and we hope to have an even stronger local presence at the Run in 1998," observed Susan C. Polansky, the assistant director of the Run who also serves as the women's long distance running chairperson for the Metropolitan Athletics Congress, the New York area chapter of USATF. "We have always tried to give runners and walkers the best race possible for their money, and the record numbers who took part in the 1997 Run proved that we are doing something right! I'm looking forward to welcoming all our local Long Island runners plus runners from all over the New York metropolitan area and beyond to Plainview on April 4!"

Age group awards will be presented to the top three male and top three female finishers in each of 15 age groups through 80 and older, and the race committee expects to give out a full complement of awards in those higher age groups. In addition, there will be a team competition for male and female teams in the Open, 40 to 49, 50 to 59 and 60 and over age divisions. In addition to top overall, age group and team awards, special awards will be presented to the top three male and female wheelchair athletes, the top three male and female open racewalkers, the top three male and female masters racewalkers, and the top "Clydesdale" runners. Special recognition will also go to the top finishers among the many amputees from the ASPIRE program who participate. The awards ceremony will be punctuated by a giant raffle, with all entrants eligible to win.

The entire net proceeds of the Run will once again be donated to ASPIRE, the special program established in conjunction with Memorial Sloan Kettering and The Hospital for Special Surgery to provide prosthetic devices, intensive physical therapy, and rehabilitation through athletics to young amputees, victims of bone cancer and traumatic amputations. This year's Run will mark the third anniversary of the opening of the new ASPIRE headquarters as part of a new complex in Manhasset that now provides for all needs of individuals who undergo amputations -- prosthetics, physical therapy, sports medicine, outreach and group support -- all in the same facility, and will mark the inauguration of the new Stanley Kramberg Memorial ASPIRE Scholarship Fund that will provide continued support for the education of the young people in the program. So in addition to enjoying a top quality running or walking experience, everyone who enters the Nationwide 10K will have the satisfaction of knowing that his or her entry fee will provide help to youngsters who have endured the tragedy of amputation.

The Plainview course was professionally laid out by David Katz of Finish Line Road Race Technicians, assisted by members of the Plainview-Old Bethpage Road Runners Club. It provides a dramatic combination of demanding hills and level straightaways through some of the most scenic roads in central Long Island, including a mile-and-a-half stretch along Round Swamp Road, past the Old Bethpage Restoration Village.

The Nationwide Insurance Run for ASPIRE will serve as the Metropolitan Athletics Congress 10 Kilometer Championship for 1998, and as part of the MAC's "Grand Prix" series that is entering its fifth year.

The 1997 edition of the Run was won by Kevin Krause of Miller Place, who outkicked two time champion Don DiDonato of Hicksville, while Regina Ronan of Northport took top honors among the women. The Masters champions were Wayne Jacob of Mystic, CT and Patty Zebersky of Farmingdale. The course record of 30:27 was set by Pat Peterson of Bay Shore in 1988, and Angela Hearn of New York City set the women's course record of 34:55 in 1989.

The entry fee is $13 for those who register in advance ($11 for members of the Plainview-Old Bethpage Road Runners Club), and $16 for those who register on the day of the Run. The fee for the Fun Run is $7 preregistered and $8 day of race. For entry forms or more information, call Plainview-Old Bethpage Road Runners Club President Mike Polansky at 349-7646.