Runners and walkers of every age and ability are invited to participate in the 10th annual North Fork Bank Trail Relay on Sunday morning, Feb. 25, at Bethpage State Park. It's going to be a lot of fun, and it's absolutely free! The Relay will start at 10 a.m. on the 15th, with teams of three runners each covering a two-mile loop on the Park's Cross Country trails.

The Greater Long Island Running Club is pleased to announce that North Fork Bank will once again be the most generous title sponsor of the event, and that The Runner's Edge running specialty store in Farmingdale will once again be will be the presenting sponsor. The event will benefit the Woodbury-based Center for Developmental Disabilities and the great work that the Center is doing to enrich the lives of autistic and other developmentally disabled individuals.

There will once again be a free snazzy commemorative shirt for everyone who enters, and $75 cash awards will be presented to the first-place Men's, Women's and Co-Ed Open, Masters and Senior Master's teams. The "GLIRC Field Kitchen" will once again be on hand to provide everyone with homemade cookies, hot chocolate, soup and muffins at the finish line. There will once again be an extraordinary door prize merchandise drawing.

GLIRC's Charlie Hamilton and Carl Grossbard will serve as the co-directors of the event.

Don't be shy. The two-mile distance is something nobody should be afraid of, the trails at Bethpage State Park are beautiful this time of year, and everyone who shows up is guaranteed to have an outstanding morning.

Don't have a team? Call the GLIRC office at 349-7646, or just show up on the 25th, and the Club will be happy to "mix and match"you with other compatible runners!

"Thanks to the generosity of North Fork Bank and The Runner's Edge, we are able to offer this fun morning free of charge to everyone," stated Relay Co-Director Carl Grossbard. "We once again expect to be able to make a significant donation to the Center for Developmental Disabilities and the outstanding work they are doing to help children and adults with autism, developmental disabilities and other differing abilities achieve their dreams by overcoming barriers to living, learning, working, and recreating, so this event is a real win-win morning for everyone!"

For entry forms or more information about the Relay, call Carl or Linda at the GLIRC office at 349-7646. Once again, the entry into the Relay is absolutely free, but, needless to say, anyone who would like to make a donation of any amount to the Center for Developmental Disabilities on Relay morning or beforehand is most encouraged to do so.