Runners and walkers from all over Long Island were out in force on Nov. 20 for the 3rd annual edition of the South Shore Sprint, a four-mile road race on the streets of Bay Shore, and when the dust had settled, Long Island Open champion Robis DeGirmenci of Syosset and Long Island Masters champion Kathy Martin of Northport emerged as the overall winners.

DeGirmenci had no competition in the Men's Open Division, winning with a 21:10 performance (a pace of 5:18 per mile) that left him more than a full minute ahead of his nearest competitor, 17-year-old West Hempstead High School star Jon Berman.

Martin beat all of the women and all but four of the men to take top honors among the women, scoring with a 23:27, comfortably ahead of runner-up Donna McMahon of Farmingdale (24:13). The handicaps evened out in the Women's Division. At 48, Martin is 19 years older than McMahon, but McMahon was only two weeks away from completing an Ironman Triathlon!

Jesse Walsh of Huntington was the first place wheelchair finisher, crossing the finish line in 21 minutes 3 seconds, a pace of 5:16 per mile that put him 31 seconds ahead of second place wheelchair finisher Jose Guttierez of Huntington Station. Greg Dawson of St. James turned in a scorching 30:52 to win the Racewalk Division, and April Henry of Huntington was the first female racewalker to finish, scoring in 42:17.

Closest competitions of the day were in the men's 30-34 age group, where Bill Swezey of Great River (23:39) outkicked Alan Sangeap of Forest Hills for first place honors, and the women's 45-49 age group, where Patricia Gregory of Bayport gritted out a nine second win over Diane Manghan of Wading River.

The South Shore Sprint was a product of the Greater Long Island Running Club, with GLIRC's Lynn Kotler serving as the race director, and David Katz of Finish Line Road Race Technicians serving as the technical director. The sprint was sponsored by the very generous sporting goods company South Shore Outdoor, Astoria Federal Savings Bank, the law firm of Pollack and Kotler, and Polar Heart Rate Monitors. Proceeds go to Southside Hospital and its Pediatrics Department.

"Our thanks and congratulations to Robis and Kathy, and all the other competitors who were part of this year's Sprint," stated Race Director Lynn Kotler. "We look forward to seeing an even bigger turnout for next month's Ho Ho Ho Holiday Run."