The featured speaker at the Jan. 18 open meeting of the Greater Long Island Running Club will be renowned coach and sports psychologist Dr. Andy Palmer. The meeting will be held at the Bethpage Public Library, on Powell Avenue in Bethpage, starting promptly at 8 p.m.

Dr. Palmer, who earned his Ph.D. in sport psychology at Florida State University, has been counseling athletes and professionals in performance enhancement skills for nearly two decades. He has coached track and cross country at both the high school and the college level, and presently directs and coordinates the Maine Running Camp.

Dr. Palmer has been a contributing editor to Running Times magazine since 1994, and is the author of several articles on enhancing athletic performance. He was an elite athlete in his younger days, competing in the Olympic trials in 1984 and again in 1988 and the World Championship Marathon Trials in 1986. He ran the 10th fastest mile in the United States in 1981, and set an American record for 30 Kilometers in 1984.

Dr. Palmer's life has been devoted to helping athletes realize their potential by teaching them solid mental and emotional skills, and he will be imparting his wisdom and experience to Long Island runners on Jan. 18.

The general public is most cordially invited to attend. For more information, call Club President Mike Polansky at 349-7646.