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On a snowy Sunday in March of 1998, the gauntlet was dropped and the Kings Park 15 Kilometer Challenge was initiated. In March of 1999, the weather was much better, the turnout was much larger ... and the challenge continued. And now, in the first March of the new millennium, a record breaking 718 athletes have met the challenge. On Sunday, March 19, the Greater Long Island Running Club hosted the largest 15 Kilometer road race ever held on Long Island, over what has been dubbed by most participants as, mile for mile, the toughest running event on Long Island. Starting and finishing at the W.T. Rogers Middle School in Kings Park, it's the race that people love to hate, and the record number of 718 finishers this March proves it. The top finisher was Levittown superstar Carlos Castro Jr., whose 52 minute, 47 second finish set a new course record. Carlos finished more than three full minutes ahead of his nearest competitor. The women's winner for the second year in a row was Donna McMahon of Farmingdale, whose 59:33 finish eclipsed the women's course record that she set in 1999. Donna's margin of victory over her closest rival was also more than three full minutes. Other top finishers from the local area included Don Murphy of Massapequa Park, who was 10th overall and third in the 40-44 age group, 14 year old Jonathan Nunez of Farmingdale, who took third place honors in the 14 and under age group, Mary Frances Whalen of Levittown, who scored second in the women's 30-34 age group, Kevin Connors of Levittown, top finisher in the 65-69 age group, and Ruth Joyce of Massapequa, second in the Women's Clydesdale Division. The Kings Park 15 Kilometer run was deliberately designed to be the toughest of challenges, incorporating as many hills as possible into 9.3 miles, culminating with the final one mile climb up Old Dock Road to the finish at the W.T. Rogers Middle School. As once competitor put it, "it hurts, it really hurts, but what a sense of accomplishment and pride when you cross the finish line." The Kings Park 15 Kilometer Run is administered by the Greater Long Island Running Club, with GLIRC's Mary Ellen Stajk and Don Butchin serving as the co-race directors. The run is part of the KeySpan/Long Island Track & Field Grand Prix of Long Island Racing, and serves as Long Island Track & Field's 15 Kilometer Championship Run. The net proceeds of the run will once again be turned over the the Children's Brain Tumor Foundation, supplemented by a special $1,000 grant from KeySpan Energy. The primary sponsor of the run is the law firm of Lazer, Aptheker, Feldman, Rosella & Yedid, LLP, whose generosity over the past three years has been a major factor in the phenomenal growth of the event. Other major sponsors include Kids Helping Kids, the law offices of Michael T. Sullivan, Kings Park Physical Therapy, Park Bake Shop, Bagels in the Park, The Wellness Alliance, and All-American Mobil, Inc. The 15 kilometer run was preceded by a special fun run for the youngsters on the grounds of the W.T. Rogers Middle School. Thanks go to W.T. Rogers Middle School Physical Education Teacher Bridget Keenan for organizing the fun run.
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