Bryan’s song: First Islander across the 10K finish line

Disappointed. Yet thrilled.

Those two conflicting emotions were still with Bryan Knipfing days after being the first Shelter Islander to break the tape at Saturday’s 10K Run.

Mr. Knipfing, 28, was shooting for a time somewhere between 33 or 34 minutes for his hometown’s 6.2-mile course, perhaps even shaving some time off last year’s personal best of 33 minutes. But Saturday’s time was 38:49.

Disappointing, yes. “But it was a great day,” Mr. Knipfing said.

A combination of a stomach virus earlier in the week and the demands of work slowed the long distance veteran, who usually trains by running 40 miles a week.

The assistant director of Camp Quinipet and head of the Shelter Island All-Faith Youth Group said that feeling under the weather combined with the arrival of campers descending on Camp Quinipet left him without the reserves he needed to compete in his goal to be among the top ten finishers.

“My sleeping patterns weren’t consistent,” he said.

Still, he was proud of being the first Islander to cross the finish line at Fiske Field.

This was Mr. Knipfing’s sixth consecutive 10K race. Normally he feels a bit of a “wall” crossing a narrow bridge where a tidal flow runs past at the base of a hill about 1.5 miles to go. But he soon breaks through that. But Saturday he felt fatigue long before encountering his mini-wall

Still he kept pounding it out, with a good sprint to the finish, cheered on by his fellow Islanders.

He’s taking it easy for the summer, cutting back on his daily miles because of work. But late fall will be another story.

“I’ll be running some10K’s then,” the Island’s winner said.