Among the highlights of the July meeting of the Greater Long Island Running Club was a special presentation to 13-year-old Deanna McDermott, who recently participated in her first wheelchair race - the fun run that preceded the Salomon Smith Barney North American Wheelchair Championship Race in Farmingdale earlier this summer.

Deanna, who has spina bifida, received a competitor's ribbon, a competitor's shirt, and a gift of a large radio/cassette player to commemorate her entry into the ranks of a wheelchair racers.

The presentation was made by Nick Katsounis, who serves as the Running Club's director of wheelchair athletes and as the director of the Wheelchair Championship Race. "Deanna is a wonderful young lady and is developing into an excellent athlete, noted Katsounis. "It is a privilege and a pleasure for me to present these gifts to her."

The featured speakers at the July 17 meeting of the Greater Long Island Running Club were Harold Tarry and Dave Gross of the New York State Department of Transportation's Design Unit. Tarry and Glass gave a detailed and informative presentation on short range and long range DOT plans for extension of the Bethpage State Parkway bike path north through Old Bethpage and Woodbury to the Syosset Long Island Railroad Station, as well as pending plans for the construction of a new bike path along Ocean Parkway from Jones Beach State Park to Captree State Park.

"We were very happy to have Tarry and Gross join us this evening," observed GLIRC'S Craig Courounis, who serves as the local running community's liaison to the department of transportation. "The information that they gave us was very helpful and we are especially pleased that DOT officials are sufficiently interested in public input to take the time and effort to come to our meeting."