Edmar Nateras, a 17-year-old Sag Harborite who runs with East Hampton High School’s boys winter and spring track teams, won Jordan’s Run Sunday, a 5K based at Pierson (Sag Harbor) High School, where he runs cross-country. The race honored the late Marine Lance Cpl. Jordan C. Haerter, who, with a fellow Marine, Cpl. Jonathan Yale, gave up his life in Ramadi, Iraq, on April 22, 2008, in preventing an explosive-filled truck from getting to a barracks in which 50 fellow Marines and Iraqi police were sleeping.
Haerter and Yale were posthumously awarded Navy Crosses by Lt. Gen. John Kelly, the then-commander of United States and Iraqi forces, who eulogized them.
Jordan’s Run is one of nine races held throughout Suffolk County to raise money for veterans organizations. Reportedly, Suffolk has the greatest number of veterans in the state. Nick Caracappa, the Fourth District’s county legislator, who heads the Legislature’s veterans committee, spoke at a ceremony that preceded the race — and ran in it, predicting he’d finish by sundown — as did Haerter’s mother, JoAnn Lyles, and Ann Welker, the Second District’s county legislator. John Avlon, a Democrat running against the Republican incumbent, Nick LaLota, for the First District congressional seat, also took part, finishing 291st among the 407 finishers.
Nateras, whose time was 17 minutes and 16.68 seconds, looked to be in fine shape in his first road race win. He’s a “swing guard,” he said, with East Hampton Town’s lifeguards this summer, working at various beaches. He was, he said, in third place through most of the race, whose course took the competitors through winding village streets and twice over the bridge linking Sag Harbor and North Haven that bears Haerter’s name, and past the late lance corporal’s gravesite in Oakland Cemetery.
The runner-up to Nateras was Nick Ellenoff, 30, of New York City, a former winner of Ellen’s Run (which is to be contested at the Southampton Intermediate School on Aug. 18), in 17:18.88. Justin Gardiner, an 18-year-old Sag Harborite, finished third in 17:32.87. Felipe Garcia, 43, of Brooklyn, and Ben Fleischman, 36, of New York City, rounded out the top five in 17:36.62 and 17:45.22.
Alyssa Bahel, 26, won among the women — as she did last year — finishing 19th over all in 20:40.89. Asked at the finish line if her father, Mike Bahel, were there, she said with a smile, “No, it was his birthday yesterday . . . and he lives in Montauk.” In contrast, she had no problem getting to the race, living, as she does now, “near the gas station on 114.” She’s training for the Washington, D.C., marathon in October, she said.
Lauren McCarthy, who’s 46 and lives in New York City, was the runner-up to Bahel — and 21st over all — in 21:06.01; a Montauker, Emily Kenyon, 34, was third in 21:25.37.
The 50-59-year-old and 60-69-year-old groups were well represented given that Ed Stern, 59, and John Kenney, 68, both of New York City, were there. Both have won road races out here in their primes. Kenney, who lives part time on Shelter Island and has helped Cliff Clark train younger runners there, said he’s occasionally been attending the workouts at East Hampton High’s track that East Hampton’s boys cross-country coach, Kevin Barry, has been overseeing.
Sunday’s participants ranged in age from 7 to 94 (Robert Goldfarb of Southampton, who crossed the line in 1:14.37.15).
