This past Saturday, the Carle Place community came out to celebrate one of the most deep-rooted traditions in town — the 34th Annual Fun Run put on by the Carle Place Civic Association. The Association uses the Fun Run as it’s only major fundraiser for the year, which allows them to give scholarships and put on other programs.
“It’s no easy task,” said John Hommel, president of the Carle Place Civic Association. “Our vice president, Christine Imrie, spends a lot of time coordinating everything from t-shirts and logos to sponsorships.”
Hommel said that one of the major challenges in putting on the run is not only getting people involved and excited about it, but also having to coordinate police and community efforts to barricade the streets and make them safe for participants. However, the result is worth it.
“This run has a very rich tradition and it’s something that we are very proud as a civic association to be able to provide for the community every year,” he said.
He said that he loves seeing people in the neighborhood getting out and about and walking with their friends and neighbors and that it gives him a sense of pride to see everyone — even the local politicians — supporting the association and the community as a whole.
“It really is just a great day,” Hommel said. “It brings the community out for a nice day and it’s just great to see all of the community support.”
Andrew Zedlovitch ran the race with his two daughters. It’s something they did last year and are hoping to do again next year.
“I wanted to spend time with my kids and this was definitely a great way to do it,” Andrew said. “The event is great and I wish that more people would come out for it next year.”
Shelby ran because she thought it would be fun, however, her favorite part was, “when it ended,” she said with a beaming smile.
Katarina Zedlovitch also ran in this year’s race. “I wanted to run it again this year to see if I could beat my time from last year,” she explained. And not only did she beat her time from 2013’s race, she also beat her entire family.
“I felt so [accomplished] to be able to beat them,” she said, noting that she is excited to beat her 2014 time in next year’s race.
“This event is really great and I applaud everyone’s efforts in making it happen,” said the elder Zedlovitch.
Overall race winners were Steve Oswald for men and Allie Naggy for women. In the family division, the Hommel family took first place, the Reid family grabbed second and the O’Malley family placed third.
