Runners, walkers, wheelchair athletes, their families and friends from the Massapequas and all over Long Island and beyond are invited to celebrate the holiday season by being part of the fun at the Carter, DeLuca, Farrell & Schmidt LLP Ho Ho Ho Holiday 5-Kilometer Run on Saturday morning, Dec. 15.

This year's Run will be held at a new venue - the Old Bethpage Village Restoration. The start will be at 9:30 a.m., and the entire 5-Kilometer race will be staged on the paths and roads of the Village.

This will be the 20th annual edition of the Ho Ho Ho Run, and new Race Director Ric Diveglio of the host Greater Long Island Running Club and his team are putting together another morning of family fitness and fun for everyone. More than 1,200 runners and walkers are expected to toe the starting line, Santa Claus will once again be the official starter, and hordes of reindeer, elves and other denizens of the holiday season will be at the Old Bethpage Village Restoration to make sure that a good time is had by all.

"While we certainly enjoyed the years that the Ho Ho Ho Run was staged in the Bethpage community," said Diveglio, "we are really excited by the opportunity to bring the event to Old Bethpage, where we hope to combine the old time holiday spirit that pervades the Village this time of year with all the fun and excitement of one of Long Island's largest 5-Kilometer races."

Proceeds of the 2007 Ho Ho Ho Holiday Run will be distributed to the Maurer Foundation for Breast Health Education, the Tender Loving Care Foundation, which sees to the needs of premature infants, and the Friends of Nassau County Restoration in support of programs at the Village.

There will be special prizes for the best holiday costume and for the first "centipede" to cross the finish line. Runners and walkers are most definitely encouraged to run the 5-Kilometers in costumes appropriate to the season.

Every entrant in the 5K will receive a high quality commemorative sweatshirt. The Run will be followed by a giant door prize drawing featuring a 26-inch flat screen High Definition Television and a Model D50 Nikon Digital SLR Camera that retails for nearly $1,000.

Entry fees will be only $18 for those who sign up by December 7 (50 percent discount for entrants ages 16 and under), $20 for those who register between December 8 and December 14, and $25 for those who wait until the morning of the 15th to sign up.

"We hope that every Long Island runner and walker will join us for this wonderful event," said Diveglio. "We are hoping to raise substantial funds for three deserving charities at the same time as we provide a great opportunity for wholesome family fun and fitness in the holiday season."

For entry forms or information, contact Mike or Linda at the GLIRC office at 349-7646. You can register on-line at www.glirc.org.