Organizers of the 12th Annual Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor's Oyster Festival 5 Kilometer Run are expecting a record turnout for the event, which will once again be the kick off for two days of family fun at the Oyster Festival. The starting horn will go off at exactly 9 on the morning of Saturday, Oct. 16.

The run will start and finish at Fireman's Field in Oyster Bay, and the runners and walkers will follow a 3.2 mile course that heads up to the Planting Fields Arboretum and back down to the finish at Fireman's Field. More than 600 participants are expected to take advantage of the beautiful fall weather that is sure to grace this year's Oyster Festival, in a field that will include most of Long Island's top distance runners as well as hundreds of middle-and back-of-the-pack recreational runners. A big contingent from the Rolling Thunder team of "special needs" young athletes has signed up to be part of the fun.

This year's run is once again being co-sponsored by State Bank of Long Island and the Town of Oyster Bay, with a strong assist from Vytra Health Plans. Oyster Bay Town Supervisor John Venditto will once again serve as the grand marshall of the run. The run will once again be administered by the Greater Long Island Running Club, with GLIRC President Mike Polansky serving as the race director. David Katz of Finish Line Road Race Technicians will once again serve as the technical director of the run, which will use the new ChampionChip technology to assure fast and accurate scoring.

It's not too late to join in the fun, and to start off the Oyster Festival on Oct. 16 with a morning of family fitness and just plain fun. The cost of advance registration for Town of Oyster Bay residents is only $14, or register on the morning of the run for only $18. In either case, you will receive a beautiful commemorative T-shirt for entering. Call the Greater Long Island Running Club at 349-7646.

If you live on or near the course, please consult the map and plan your morning accordingly, as it will be necessary to divert and/or delay traffic at different points along the way as the runners and walkers go by. The run will start at exactly 9 a.m. The last runner/walker will cross the finish line at Fireman's Field by 9:45 a.m., but most of the course will be clear long before then.