There was virtually no pre-race publicity, but word-of-mouth attracted 31 teams of three runners each to kick off the inaugural Plainview-Old Bethpage Road Runners Club Trail Relay at Bethpage State Park on March 7. No entry fee, and very little cost to the club brought a lot of fun and a lot of good will for POBRRC -- and helped everyone realize what a real treasure we have in the network of trails in Bethpage State Park! This was running at its grass roots best!

Thanks go to volunteers Ed Melnik, Lori Melnik, Steve Rand, Mike Turkovich, Bob Windorf, Ray Newland, Gina Gelman, Maria Newland, Glenn Miller, Paul Engelhart, Phil Costello, Nestor Rivera, Charlie Hamilton, Kristen Hamilton, Mike Mahlan, Howard Ebert, Geza Feld, Pedro Pereira, Joe Maiorana, Steve Attias and Mark Attias, with an extra special thank you to Bill Whitcomb and Bill Meisner of Whitsons Fabulous Foods for opening up the "POBRRC Men's Racing Team Field Kitchen" for everyone's enjoyment!

Thanks also to the merchants who supplied us with prizes for use as awards and raffles: Spoto's Pasta Cafe, La Piazza, Celebrity Diner, La Cucina's Restaurant, Rosa's Pizzeria, New York Carver Deli-Grill, Golden Dolphin Diner, Bob Bons Chocolatier, Main Street Fruits & Vegetables, II Pescatore Restaurant, Whitson's Fabulous Foods, and our new clubhouse neighbors from Clever Cookie Corporation.

Look for this one to be back next year -- even bigger and better!