Three athletes from Westbury, Amanda Chaimnovich, 24; Miriam Mulvey, 51; and Racewalker Robert Hylton, 71 were among the award winners as nearly 600 runners from all over Long Island and beyond successfully completed the 15th annual Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor's 5K Run on Saturday, Oct. 19.

A highly competitive field that included virtually every top runner from Long Island was led to the finish line at Fireman's Field by Will Feting of the Greater Long Island Running Club, who came from fourth place at the tow mile mark on Oyster Bay-Glen Cove Road to score as the first place finisher in 16 minutes, 18 seconds. Finishing against the backdrop of the Oyster Festival carnival rides, the top 12 finishers all broke 17 minutes, and the first 27 finishers all finished under the 18-minute mark. Top female finisher was Northport superstar Kathy Martin in 18:33.

Amanda Chaimovich was the fourth place finisher in the women's 20-24 age group, crossing the finishing line in 25:44, only a scant two seconds out of third place. Miriam Mulvey took third place honors in the women's 50-54 age group, scoring in a time of 23:38. Robert Hylton scored as the first "Masters" racewalker in 35:22.

The fastest finish of the day by a Westbury resident was 23 minutes by 41-year-old Mark Tomasino. His time, however, wasn't quite fast enough to win an award in the extremely competitive men's 40-44 age group. Other Westbury residents successfully completing the 3.1 mile event included Michael Berg (24:57), Jeremy Katz (30:03), Samuel Sanchez (30:40), Philip Clark (31:48), Catherine Calamari (32:48), Anne McNamara (32:48), Christine Berg (36:26) and Janice Calamari (40:59).

The Oyster Bay 5K course is not an easy one, including as it does a steep three-fourths mile climb up "Planting Fields Hill" followed by a quad-jarring three-fourths mile descent back down that same hill.

The Oyster Bay Run was conducted under the direction of the Greater Long Island Running Club, with GLIRC President Mike Polansky serving as the race director once again this year. Technical support was furnished by Finish Line Road Race Technicians, utilizing the "Champion Chip" race scoring technology. The primary sponsors of the event were once again the State Bank of Long Island and the Town of Oyster Bay. Additional support was provided by Whole Foods Market of Manhasset and South Shore Outdoor.

Oyster Bay Town Supervisor John Venditto was once again the Honorary Chairman of the Race Committee. In addition to Supervisor Venditto, other dignitaries on hand to cheer the runners on included New York State Senator Carl Marcellino, New York State Assemblyman David Sidikman, Oyster Bay Town Councilwoman Mary McCaffery and Oyster Bay Town Clerk Martha Offerman.

This year's run was once again part of the KeySpan Energy Grand Prix Series of Long Island road races conducted under the auspices of Long Island Track & Field (LITF). October is National Breast Cancer Month, and Terry Kelly of KeySpan and LITF President Susan Polansky presented a check for $1,000 to the Maurer Foundation for Breast Health Education in honor of the occasion.

"This is a great run and a great challenge for Long Island recreational athletes," observed Race Director Mike Polansky. "The hills around Oyster Bay are a stunning venue for an early morning run in October, and we are thrilled to have had such an outstanding field that included virtually every top athlete on Long Island. We are very much appreciative of the Town of Oyster Bay and its outstanding Department of Recreation and Parks, of the continued enthusiastic support of Town Supervisor John Venditto, and of Vice President Mary Durkin and all the other wonderful folks from State Bank of Long Island for making this event a reality once again this year. The Oyster Bay Town Supervisor's Oyster Festival Run is what recreational running and racing on Long Island is all about."