The 2005 Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor's Oyster Festival 5 Kilometer Run will feature a new and exciting course that has the entire Long Island running community buzzing ... and which will also eliminate any possibility of logistical conflict between the Run and the Oyster Festival itself. The run will be held on Saturday morning, Oct. 15, starting at 9 p.m.

The new course will start on South Street, just south of Summit Street, and take the runners on a 3.1 mile adventure up Berry Hill Road and down Sandy Hill Road before returning them to East Main Street and the finish line inside the Townsend Square Public Parking lot. The course was developed by the Oyster Festival's Lance Elder and Greater Long Island Running Club President Mike Polansky.

Since the Oyster Festival moved its focus to Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Park two years ago, there has been something of a conflict between the needs of vendors setting up for the Festival early Saturday morning and the staging of the Run, which had started and finished at Fireman's Field. The new course will eliminate all possibility of conflict and make both the Run and the Festival better experiences for all concerned.

This year's Run has been carefully planned to make sure that it is a "fun" event for the entire family, and everyone is urged to stick around after the Run to enjoy the Oyster Festival.

Distinctive commemorative T-shirts will be given to everyone who registers, and all registrants will be eligible for the massive door prize drawing that will take place at the post-Run Awards Ceremony. Awards will be presented to the top five male and top five female finishers overall, the top five male and female finishers in each of 14 five-year age groups (through age 75 and over), the top five male and female open and masters racewalkers, the top three wheelchair finishers, and the top Clydesdale runners in two male and two female weight divisions.

The entry fee will be $18 for those who preregister ($15 for residents of the Town of Oyster Bay), and $20 for those who wait until the day of the Run to register. Post-registration and number and T-shirt pickup will be at the Town of Oyster Bay's Community Center in Townsend Square in Oyster Bay from 7:15 to 8:45 a.m. on the morning of the run, but you can pick them up in advance at The Runner's Edge on Main Street in Farmingdale on Friday, Oct. 14 from noon to 5 p.m.

The Oyster Bay Run will once be conducted under the auspices of the Town of Oyster Bay and its Department of Parks and Recreation, and will once again be administered by the Greater Long Island Running Club, with GLIRC President Mike Polansky serving as the race director. Oyster Bay Town Supervisor John Venditto will once again be the honorary chairman of the race committee. Technical support will be furnished by JMS Racing Services utilizing the "AMB" race scoring technology.

This year's run is once again part of the Grand Prix Series of Long Island road races conducted under the auspices of Long Island Track and Field (LITF). October is National Breast Cancer Month, and Vytra and LITF will both be presenting checks to the Maurer Foundation for Breast Health Education in honor of the occasion.

"This is a great run and a great challenge for Long Island recreational athletes," observed Race Director Mike Polansky. "The hills around Oyster Bay are a stunning venue for an early morning run in October, and we are looking for a crisp, clear autumn morning that will make it possible for everyone to have a picture-perfect run on what I believe is the most exciting new course on Long Island. We are very much appreciative of the Town of Oyster Bay and its outstanding Department of Recreation and Parks, and particularly of the support of Town Supervisor John Venditto, who has lived up to his promise of making our town 'the recreational sports capital of the Northeast.' We hope that every runner and walker on Long Island will join us here in beautiful Oyster Bay for a great morning run - and that they will stick around to enjoy the Oyster Festival afterwards. The Oyster Bay Town Supervisor's Oyster Festival Run is what recreational running and racing on Long Island can - and should - be all about."

For entry forms or more information, call Mike at the Running Club at 349-7646, or register online at www.glirc.org.