By Judy Rattner
New this year was the 3.1 mile 5k race.
Timed by Finish Line Road Race Technicians, with chips that runners looped through their shoelaces, the field of runners in age categories that ranged from 9 and under to 70 and over, as well as a category for physically challenged racers encountered some of the chilliest weather of the season so far with a stiff breeze that helped to clear skies after an overnight rain.
In the 5K race, the top Rockville Centre finishers out of the 174 competitors were Eric Kessler, 16, at 19:10 and Bridget Murray, also 16, with a time of 22.41. Kessler, a junior at South Side High School said, "I felt it was an easy course to run, easier than the cross country races because there were no hills and I was in pretty good shape because of my recent cross country race. This was my first 5K race and I was pretty excited." Overall winners in the race were Gerald O'Hara, 43, of East Rockaway with a 17:54 time, and Collette Kavanagh, 31 of Long Beach who finished with a time of 19:20. No physically challenged racers participated in the event.
In the 10K race, in which 423 people participated, the top Rockville Centre finishers were Rocco Sinisi, 44, at 38:49 and Tara Shelley, 16, with a time of 44:56. Shelley, a South Side High School junior, said she had run the race before but not since her freshman year, which was two years ago. "I like running in Rockvile Centre," she said, "because it seemed easier to run in my home town, I was more relaxed and less nervous. I'm on the South Side Cross Country team and this was the first race I've run since the season ended. It was nice to run a less pressured race." Overall winners in that race were Andrew Smith, 35, of Long Beach with a time of 36:00 and Laura Brown, 40, of Westhampton Beach at 39:39. No physically disabled runners competed in the 10K race this year.
Mary Walsh, who placed 3rd in the women's 40-44 age bracket of the 10K race said, "The race was great. I've run it many times but I did skip last year. I coach the Racers, a Girls U-10 travel soccer team, and I wanted them to run, but they had a game. I left the game at the half to run the race. The course was beautiful and the fans' enthusiasm really kept me going. It is such a nice race."
There were a few recognizable names among the runners. Frank Yannelli, who was 1st in the men's 70 and over age group in the 5K race, with a time of 31:50, is a Justice for the Village of Rockville Centre. And William Johnson, who placed 2nd in the men's 60-64 age bracket in the 5K race, completing the course in 24:38, is Rockville Centre's school superintendent.
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Photos By Jeff Wilson/Herald
