Runners from Oyster Bay, Bayville, East Norwich, Mill Neck and other North Shore communities are invited to be a part of Rob's Run, the annual late fall 5 Kilometer cross country run, which will be held on Sunday, Nov. 25 at Stillwell Woods Town Park in Syosset.

This is the 9th annual edition of Rob's Run, which will once again be sponsored by Long Island Blood Services and administered by the Greater Long Island Running Club. GLIRC Co-Race Directors Ed Melnik and Steve Klemes are hard at work putting the finishing touches on this individual and team competition that has become Long Island's premier cross country event and a great was to enjoy the beauties of Stillwell Woods.

As in the past, Rob's Run is dedicated to the memory of Rob Lauterborn, an extraordinary human being, talented runner, and good friend, who was taken from us at far too young an age. The net proceeds of Rob's Run will once again be turned over the ASPIRE Program for the rehabilitation of young amputees, victims of bone cancer and traumatic amputations.

"Our partnership with Long Island Blood Services has been a great boost for Rob's Run and for cross country running in general," observed Co-Race Director Ed Melnik. "We hope that every local runner and walker will join us in Syosset on Nov. 25."

Entry fees are $18 for those who preregister and $20 for those who wait till the day of the Run. Everyone who registers is guaranteed one of the great long sleeve commemorative T shirts that have been the trademark of Rob's Run over the years. The Run will start promptly at 9 a.m. on the morning of the 25th.

Awards will be presented to the top three male and female individual finishers overall, and to the top three teams (four runners per team) in each of the following divisions: male, female and coed open, male, female and coed masters, male and female senior masters (all runners age 50 plus), middle school boys, middle school girls, high school boys, and high school girls. Enter as an individual or enter as part of a team - but don't miss Nov. 25 for a great morning of cross country running!

The 2000 edition of Rob's Run featured some of the worst weather conditions possible, with monsoon-like winds and driving rains the order of the day, but race organizers are hopeful that conditions will be somewhat better this year. "Cross country runners sometimes need to adapt to tough weather conditions," observed Co-Race Director Ed Melnik, "but the kind of wind, rain and mud that we face up to last year was obviously much more than is reasonable, and we are hopeful that conditions will be more typical this year!"

For entry forms or more information, call the Greater Long Island Running Club at (516) 349-7646.