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Chris Kary and Gail Marino were the winners at the weekly SIAC Run for Fun at Clove Lakes Park. Kary covered the three-mile course in 17:31, narrowly defeating second place Scott LaMorte (17:36). John Cassidy (17:48), Anthony Velez (18:00) and Frank Connelly (18:07) rounded out the top five.

Marino won the women's division in 21:45, holding off second place Janice Ellison (22:03). Alma Ramos (22:13), Fran Messina (23:51) and 9-year old Christine Connelly (24:15) captured second through fifth, respectively.

As I ventured to tackle the Brooklyn Half-Marathon course this morning, I was not present for this bizarre edition of the Fun Run, but the trusted eyes and ears of Anthony Pitarresi and Alma Ramos have supplied this column's material. Chris Kary added to the legend of Fun Run "bizarro" moments, automatically qualifying for a Top Ten Moments of 2002 award. He ran up the first hill in first place and rather than stay straight, he instead made a left turn. No one could stop Chris, and so he proceeded to run the entire straightaway on the other side of the lake, crossed paths with some lead runners over the second bridge, hit the finish line area, turned around and chased those who had taken advantage of his gaffe. Shades of the two Mexican runners in the NYC Marathon a few years back, he ran down the field and won by 6 seconds over hard luck Scott LaMorte. Incredible!!

There was apparently a long cord jutting over the course from the Lake Cafe, per Alma Ramos. I'm guessing everyone had to deal with this nuisance without tripping unceremoniously. Congrats to 11 year-old Mike Carullo on a Personal Best of 23:16. And a great job by 9 year-old Christine Connelly in capturing fifth place among females in 24:15. Her dad Frank was fifth overall in 18:07.

What's a column without an Alma Ramos story? After the race, she had Anthony Pitarresi assist her in finding a place to inspect her vehicle (6 days overdue apparently). After several unsuccessful stops, they came upon Anthony's friend's place, who was able to help. What Anthony does not know is the outcome of this story - numerous repairs totalling $785.00. The owner did not charge tax because he knows Anthony!

And by the way, The Brooklyn Half is the only race I've ever run that ends uphill to the finish. I'd love to hear from others who can cite any other race that ends uphill. Ronaldson is uphill the last mile, but finishes over a straight 300 yards or so, if you'll recall.

Place	Last Name		Time	Pace	
1	Chris	Kary		0:17:31	0:05:50
2	Scott	LaMorte		0:17:36	0:05:52
3	John	Cassidy		0:17:48	0:05:56
4	Anthony	Velez		0:18:00	0:06:00
5	Frank	Connelly	0:18:07	0:06:02
6	Daniel	Bisceglie	0:18:54	0:06:18
7	Andrew	Cheng		0:19:10	0:06:23
8	Jonathan Rodriguez	0:19:26	0:06:29
9	Marc	Williamson	0:19:27	0:06:29
10	Art	Noland		0:20:40	0:06:53
11	Dan	Pettigrew	0:21:10	0:07:03
12	Phil	Jonas		0:21:29	0:07:10
13	Gail	Marino		0:21:45	0:07:15
14	Janice	Ellison		0:22:03	0:07:21
15	Alma	Ramos		0:22:13	0:07:24
16	Mike	Carullo		0:23:16	0:07:45
17	V.	La-Magra	0:23:26	0:07:49
18	Fran	Messina		0:23:51	0:07:57
19	Ray	Butler		0:24:04	0:08:01
20	Christine Connelly	0:24:15	0:08:05
21	Tony	Celentano	0:24:33	0:08:11
22	Bill	Rivers		0:24:53	0:08:18
23	Anthony	Catania		0:25:04	0:08:21
24	James	Naples		0:25:06	0:08:22
25	Phil	Gabriel		0:25:45	0:08:35
26	Paul	Forster		0:25:48	0:08:36
27	David	Yue		0:26:00	0:08:40
28	Erin	Walsh		0:26:10	0:08:43
29	Emil	Geosits		0:26:11	0:08:44
30	Migelalia Letriz	0:26:43	0:08:54
31	Patrick	Kary		0:26:43	0:08:54
32	Charlene Guarano	0:26:58	0:08:59
33	Kathy	Roppolo-O'Hara	0:27:00	0:09:00
34	Mike	Garone		0:28:04	0:09:21
35	Elizabeth Quinones	0:28:36	0:09:32
36	Marie	Garone		0:34:40	0:11:33