Seaford
HERALD Citizen
Summer baseball big winner
Schumer backs Gordon in 2nd
Summer reading in full swing
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VOL. 68 NO. 29
JULY 16 - 22, 2020
Phase 4 boosts morale, despite slow start By TIMOTHY DENTON and SCOTT BRINTON tdenton@liherald.com, sbrinton@liherald.com
Courtesy Express Lacrosse
YOUTH SPORTS LEAGUES were among the first to take advantage of Phase 4 reopenings, like the Express Lacrosse summer clinic at Cedar Creek Park in Seaford, which began on July 6.
Businesses in Seaford and Wantagh continued to open under the state’s Phase 4 rules last week, but the fanfare was somewhat muted. The two hamlets have relatively few of the businesses most likely to benefit, and many that were already open continued to operate under severe restrictions. Still, every move in the direction of business as usual was cause for relief. The biggest winners were not entertainment venues or
museums, though: Athletes are now permitted the use of Nassau County’s 60 athletic fields after some on-again, off-again decisions by county officials. Cedar Creek Park was one of the first to take advantage of the reopening, as the Smithtown-based Express Lacrosse began its summer training clinic on July 6. And Seaford’s Tackapausha Preserve was open to hikers and other nature lovers from sunset to sundown, although the preserve’s museum remained closed for the time being. Dogs CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
Seaford harrier traverses Long Island for charity By J.D. FREDA jfreda@liherald.com
Just after midnight on July 7, Ryan Clifford steadied himself against the Montauk Point Light House with one hand as he limbered up for a feat no Long Islander had accomplished before. Clifford, 23, of Seaford, was about to embark on an ultramarathon — but not just any ultra-marathon. This would be the longest race he had ever run, by more than 50 miles. Clifford is a former cross-country and track athlete at Mansfield University in Pennsylvania, and a current graduate assistant cross-country
and track coach at Minot State University in North Dakota. He was a standout athlete at General Douglas MacArthur High School. Running is anything but new to him, but this challenge was. In fact, no one had ever attempted it, according to Clifford. That day, he started and finished a 131-mile run, from Montauk Point to the Brooklyn Bridge, in 21 hours, 47 minutes, 52 seconds, running the length of Long Island to raise money for a local charity. The idea was Clifford’s own, generated in the interest of philanthropy and nurtured by a relationship with a friend from
The John Theissen Children’s Foundation is still accepting donations for Clifford’s 131-mile run. Go to https://www.ryanontherun. com/ and click the “Donate” tab. There is no minimum donation. his hometown. “I met John well over 10 years ago, when he was very involved in the Long Island running community,” Clifford said of John Theissen, who created the John Theissen Children’s Foundation. “We would compete in races when I was younger together. My parents
came to races . . . and we formed a good relationship. I helped him when he needed help, especially during the holiday season toy drive.” Clifford said that he and Theissen, who’s now 49, built a rapport when Clifford ran in local 5K’s, such as the Seaford Hot Chocolate 5K. “I would start to beat John in races around [age]
13,” Clifford said cheekily. “He always got a little mad, because I wore a goofy hat, and he would wonder why the kid with the goofy hat was running past him.” Clifford’s respect for and adulation of Theissen gave him the idea for his very long run. “He always wanted to do the full CONTINUED ON PAGE 5