Around the Island

On your mark, get set for 10K weekend

COURTESY PHOTO  Meb Keflezighi, a former Boston Marathon champion, is returning to Shelter Island for his second 10K run Saturday. He’ll be joined by thousands of runners and spectators.
COURTESY PHOTO
Meb Keflezighi, a former Boston Marathon champion, is returning to Shelter Island for his second 10K run Saturday. He’ll be joined by thousands of runners and spectators.

Two days before runners in the Shelter Island 10K hit the course, Cliff Clark, who co-founded the event with John Strode and Jack Fath 36 years ago, called his hometown’s signature sporting event “as good a race as any in the country.”

Mr. Clark, an award-winning collegiate runner who fell just short of qualifying for the 1972 Munich Olympics in competition with the legendary Steve Prefontiane, directed the 10K for 11 years.

Back in 1980 when the three founders went to the Town Board for authorization to organize the 10K, officials were enthusiastic. But it was new to the community and the excitement that has come to unite Islanders and visitors alike, was yet to build, he said.

“The first year, people hadn’t realized how big it could be,” he said.

The Island’s race got off to a strong start and raised a lot of money for charity the first couple of decades. But it was an event that was “going to die,” if current Race Director Mary Ellen Adipietro and her husband Dr. Frank Adipietro had not stepped up more than 10 years ago to breathe new life into the 10K, Mr. Clark said.

The Island’s 10K now has all the elements of a premier event, including the ability to raise money for vital causes, an international cast of world class distance runners competing for prize money, a showcase for the beauty of the Island and the excitement of those who run and those who watch.

During the first decade of the race, the tradition of attracting elite runners was established with many former Olympians and marathoners on the international circuit taking the ferry over to compete. The late Grete Waitz of Norway, who won a record nine New York City marathons, described the Shelter Island race as the best 10K she has ever run, Mr. Clark said.

The first race was on August 9, 1980, at a time when organizers decided it would attract attention of both full-time and seasonal residents. But the plan was to move it to June once the number of participants hit 500,

Mr. Clark said. No one had to wait long to move up the schedule: In year one, 726 runners were on the course.

Now the race attracts up to 2,500 participants.

Few other events have the power to pull the entire community together the way the 10K does. Mr. Clark’s explanation is simple: “People want to be there.”

The race has created an interest in running that wasn’t always alive here, Mr. Clark said. In his early running days on the Island, he recalls being almost alone. Today, running programs are being revived at the Shelter Island School and drivers are cautioned to slow down with what seems like a runner around every turn of every road.

The three main beneficiaries — the Shelter Island 10K Community Fund, East End Hospice and Timothy Hill Children’s Ranch — are “the purest choices,” Mr. Clark said, to receive the lion’s share of funds raised.
Bringing Julie Bliss onboard this year to handle sponsorship and marketing was a step in the right direction, which should result in a greater number of sponsors in future years, Mr. Clark said, adding “We should be doing more” to raise money.

One change this year to allow those participating in the 5K to either continue the more leisurely walk or to race the shorter course with medals going to the first man and woman completing the course, “has a lot of merit,” Mr. Clark said.

With so many young runners participating and choosing the 5K for their level of development, Mr. Clark likes the idea of giving them the opportunity to participate in a shorter but still competitive race, while still letting those who want to walk the course to do so.

Looking ahead to Saturday’s race, Mr. Clark said everything that’s good about Shelter Island “is manifest in that day.”