On Saturday, April 7, runners, wheelchair athletes, and race walkers from all over the New York Metropolitan area flocked to Plainview-Old Bethpage to participate in the 24th annual running of the prestigious Nationwide Insurance 10 Kilometer Run for ASPIRE, which is the first ten-Kilometer race of the year on Long Island.

Among the top finishers in the run were local residents Michael Anderson of Woodbury, who was the second-place finisher in the 25-29 age group; John Del Maestro of Woodbury, who scored as the first finisher in the 45-49 age group; Ruth Sturgess of Jericho, second-place finisher in the Women's 65-69 age group; and George Dennis of Muttontown, who finished third in the 75 and over age group.

Michael finished in eighth place overall in a strong time of 34 minutes, 35 seconds. John, who at age 45 has consistently been among the top Masters (over age 40) runners on Long Island, crossed the finish line in 36:32, good for 20th place overall. Ruth finished in 1:10:16 and George finished in 1:09:22. All four local stars are members of the Greater Long Island Running Club. Michael runs competitively for the Warren Street team, John runs competitively for the Runner's Edge team, and Ruth and George wear the colors of the GLIRC "Senior Feet" team.

The run was conducted under the auspices of the Greater Long Island Running Club, with Craig Courounis and Bob Windorf serving as the co-directors of the run.

The primary sponsor of the ASPIRE Run was once again Nationwide Insurance, and Tony Wiszowaty of Nationwide's Massapequa Park agency was on hand to cheer the athletes on. Other key sponsors included Trader Joe's, with April Pearsall, manager of Trader Joe's Plainview store and Sal Cipolla, the manager of Trader Joe's Hewlett store, on hand with other members of their staff, The Runner's Edge of Farmingdale, Mizumo, Krispy Doughnuts, and Vytra Health Plans. A team of employees from Vytra Health Plans supervised the team that staffed the water station at the 1.5-mile mark on Haypath Road and the 3-mile water station was hosted by Bethview Mobil.

As always, the entire net proceeds of the run were turned over to the ASPIRE program for the rehabilitation of young amputees, victims of bone cancer, birth defects and traumatic amputations. Paddy Rossbach, the executive director of ASPIRE, was on hand for the run. The run was once again dedicated to the memory of Stanley Kramberg, the Nationwide Insurance agent who was an enthusiastic runner, an active member of the Greater Long Island Running Club and a strong supporter of the ASPIRE program. Stan lost his battle to brain cancer several years ago, but his name lives on through this run and its support of the ASPIRE program. A special scholarship has been set up in Stan's name to help young amputees from the ASPIRE program continue their education.

This year's Nationwide Insurance Run for ASPIRE served as the 10-Kilometer Championship race for Long Island Track & Field, and was part of the 2000 Long Island Grand Prix of Road Races co-sponsored by KeySpan and Long Island Track & Field. As part of KeySpan's sponsorship of the Grand Prix, a $1,000 check was presented to ASPIRE at the post-run awards ceremony.

"It is very much a pleasure for us to stage this run every year for a great cause like ASPIRE," observed Run Co-Director Craig Courounis, "and we are thrilled that so many of our friends from Woodbury, Jericho and Syosset were able to join us this year. We are already starting plans for our Silver Anniversary Run on Saturday, April 6 and we hope everyone will join us then!"