Sound-to-Bay draws 450 runners, hundreds more spectators for 16th annual event

Blue skies and sunshine prevailed for the 16th Annual Sound-to-Bay 10K and 5K hosted by the Jamesport Fire Department this morning.

Kevin Harvey, 22, of Sag Harbor came in first overall in the 10K with a time of 33:09, outpacing by more than three minutes second-place Tim Steiskal, 34, of Brookhaven, who crossed the finish line at 36:36. Steiskal won the Riverhead Rocks Triathlon for the third year in a row earlier this month. In third place — and first in the 40- to 49-year-old division — was Shaun Mara, of East Northport, who was clocked in at 37:05.

It was the first Sound-to-Bay race for Harvey, a former All-State track star who ran for Calhoun High School in Merrick and Fordham University.

“It’s a nice, scenic course,” Harvey said of the 6.2-mile road race that starts at Iron Pier Beach and ends at the town beach in South Jamesport.

The winner of the 5K race, which started and ended at the South Jamesport beach, was also a first-timer in the Jamesport event. Shoreham-Wading River High School senior Matt Gladysz, 17, of Wading River, crossed the finish line in 16:39. He was followed by 50-year-old Gerry O’Hara, of East Rockaway, who posted a time of 17:03, and Nicholas Berglin, of Hampton Bays, who ran the 5K in 17:18.

Gladysz runs cross country, winter and spring track for the Wildcats. He went to the state championships for cross country in his sophomore and junior years.

“I think I can win the county Class B this year,” Gladysz said. “I feel great.”

The first woman in the 10K to cross the finish line was Heather Wright, who will celebrate her 41st birthday next week. She ran the 10K in 41:12 and placed 10th overall. This was also her first Sound-to-Bay run.

The female winner of the 5K was Wright’s running buddy, Tara Farrell, 35, of East Quogue, another first-timer in Jamesport; she was clocked in at 18:55. Farrell and Wright, along with Laura Brown, 46, of Westhampton — who placed third among women in the 10K — run together each morning at 5:30.

The men and women who placed first, second and third place in each race overall, as well as in eight age divisions, were presented with trophies and medals in ceremonies at the conclusion of the race, emceed by firefighter Woody Orenstein.

Runners were treated to an assortment of fresh fruits, homemade Italian ices donated by Dari-Land and ale donated by Crooked Ladder brewery in Riverhead, dispensed from a tap on a specially equipped vintage fire engine.

About 450 people signed up to run in this year’s races, said event chairman, firefighter Paul Higgins. It was the just the second year for the 5K event, which was added by organizers in 2013.

“Everyone had a lot of fun,” Higgins said. “Our runners and guests all seemed to enjoy themselves, as they do every year.”

“They get a big kick out of taking home a bag of Long Island potatoes,” Higgins said.

See complete race results here.

RiverheadLOCAL photos by Peter Blasl and Denise Civiletti
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