A record breaking total of 1,253 runners and walkers crossed the Bethpage High School finish line at the 14th Annual Ho Ho Ho Holiday Run held Dec. 22. 1,474 runners were registered for the event, also a record.

Top local finishers were Gerard Ford of Massapequa (19:08), Rashawn Smith of Massapequa Park (21:10), Greg Karl of Massapequa Park (21:27), Dennis Bujacich of Massapequa Park (21:49), Dan Cacace of Massapequa (22:14), 12-year-old Jeffrey Giordano of Massapequa Park (22:19), Trisha Fasini of Massapequa (21:31), Melissa Villaume of Massapequa Park (21:51), and Kathleen O'Leary of Massapequa Park (23:58).

The overall winners were Jose Zayas of Jamaica, Queens, who completed the 5 Kilometer (3.1 mile) course in 15 minutes, 29 seconds. Top female was Brooke Carney of Golden, CO in 17:58, and top wheelchair racer was Peter Hawkins of Malverne, who scored in 16:17. Top Masters (age 40 plus) finishers were 49-year-old Paul Mascali of Manhasset, who was 8th overall in 16:38, and 50-year-old Kathy Martin of Northport, who was the second woman overall in 18:13.

The real story of the day wasn't about winning and losing, according to Greater Long Island Running Club President Michael Polansky, but about the incredible turnout of recreational athletes, many of them dressed as Santas, elves, reindeers and other denizens of the holiday season. The total of 1,253 finishers was 400 more than finished the 2001 edition of the run, great testimony to the increasing popularity of the racing programs offered by the Greater Long Island Running Club, and the warm welcome the runners and walkers receive from the friendly Bethpage community. An additional 60 youngsters participated in the Quarter Mile Fun Run on the Bethpage High School track that preceded the main event.

The proceeds from this year's Run will be distributed to the "Bretton Bowl" Fund for local needy families and the Maurer Foundation for Breast Health Education.