York City Marathon

Gwendolyn Gordy Fuqua, 71, who helped her music mogul brother Berry Gordy Jr. form Motown Records, died of cancer Monday in San Diego. Mrs. Fuqua and her sister, Anna, led Motown's famous artist development department, where Mrs. Fuqua helped guide such Motown stars as the Supremes, Martha and the Vandellas, and the Temptations.Robert Kramer,60, an American movie director who devoted his career to capturing dissident movements from Vietnam war protesters to Latin American guerrillas, died Wednesday at Rouen Hospital in Normandy from meningitis, French news media reported.

Wouldn't it be the worst to be an unathletic kid in the Phelps family? Luckily it didn't happen. With them, it's all Iron Man this, Olympics that. And now Michael's sister Whitney is about to run the New York City Marathon on Nov. 4 while his other sis Hilary takes on the 5K. Remember all of those Olympic events where Debbie Phelps cheered on Michael, flanked by Hilary and Whitney? Well, come marathon morning, Michael says he'll be trying out the cheering position, rooting for Hilary and Whitney.

* Saturday: A Place for Your Pace, Peerce's Plantation, 8 a.m.; RASAC Thomas Run 7-miler, Harford CC, 734-7737; Ironman Triathlon, Hawaii.* Sunday: Johns Hopkins Oncology 5-K, JHU, 9 a.m.; Fitness 10-K, Gaithersburg, 8 a.m., 258-0661; Fifth Avenue Mile, New York City.* Future book: Gator half-marathon, Oct. 26; Baugher's 10/20-K, Oct. 27; Annapolis Key School 10-K, Oct. 27; Deer Creek 10-K, Oct. 27; Piney Orchard 5-K and biathlon, Oct. 27; Ciccarone Ticker 10-K, Nov. 2; BRRC Mini-marathon 5-K, Nov. 3; Kreiger Memorial 8-K, Nov. 9; Hog Neck 5-miler, Nov. 9; Greater Dundalk 10-K, Nov. 24; Sinai 5-miler, Nov. 17; Homewood 8-K.* News and notes: Wanda Panfil, winner of the World Championship a while back, won't be back to defend her title at the New York City Marathon.

SUNDAY'S TELEVISION HIGHLIGHTS NASCAR Sprint Cup: AAA Texas 500 ESPN3 Baseball Taiwan All-Star Series, Game 5 (T) MLB9 Arizona Fall League: Teams TBA (T) MLB1 a.m. C. foot. LSU@Alabama (T) ESPNU6 NFL San Francisco@Washington 45, 51 Jets@Buffalo 131 Giants@New England 45, 54 Denver@Oakland 94 Ravens@Pittsburgh 11, 48:15 PGA Champions: Schwab Cup, Final Round GOLF4:30 Soccer Italian Serie A: AC Milan vs. Catania FSC9 a.m. EPL: Fulham vs. Hotspur FSC11 a.m. Italian Serie A: Napoli vs. Juventus FSC2:30 W. soccer Big East Final: Louisville-W.Va.

Preakness Celebration '98, Maryland's weeklong festival building up to the Preakness Stakes race next Saturday, begins today. Today's events:* Media Balloon Launch. Thirty gigantic hot-air balloons, in such shapes as Mrs. Butterworth's Syrup Bottle, launch at Rash Field in Baltimore's Inner Harbor, 6: 30 a.m.-8 a.m. Free.* Baltimore Magazine Pasta Dinner. From 4 p.m.-9 p.m. Sheraton Inner Harbor Hotel, 300 S. Charles St., hosts an all-you-can-eat extravaganza (spaghetti, salad fixings, dessert)

In her first-ever pageant, Brenda von Rautenkranz, 33, of Woodbine won the Mrs. Maryland title last June.Today, the petite, blonde mother of two will compete for the top title of Mrs. USA in Irvington, Texas.Since capturing the state title, von Rautenkranz has made roughly one appearance a month and has participated in each event, such as a marathon race.If she gets the national title, she will be expected to act as spokeswoman for married women and attend fund-raisers for non-profit groups throughout the country.

If you're looking for some really solid health-related books to give for Christmas, I'd like to share a few of my favorites.Before I do, however, I'd like to mention my personal bias about health-related gifts. Give them only to people who want them. Don't try to make over folks who aren't ready yet; it's a waste of time and money.But for the people on your list who have a particular interest in nutrition, food or cooking, here are a few goodies they'll treasure.* "Nutrition for Women, The Complete Guide: How Eating Right Can Help You Look and Feel Your Best," by Elizabeth Somer, is a remarkably easy-to-read compendium of research of issues pertinent to women's health.

One of the big names, Joan Benoit Samuelson, will be missing Sunday, but the fact is the New York City Marathon will never be wanting for marquee performers, so enormous has the event become.Samuelson, the 1984 Olympic champion, phoned regrets to race organizers from her home in Maine yesterday, citing leg and back problems. Along with a half-dozen other women, Samuelson had taken on the role of spoiler as Grete Waitz attempts to win her 10th race through the streets of the city's five boroughs.