Steamy 10K race challenged runners, but a joyous day for Shelter Island
“Hot.”
That was the word of the day from participants following the Shelter Island 10K/5K Run/Walk as a strong sun sent temperatures soaring.
Dr. Frank Adipietro, the voice of the race now in its 46th year, early on pronounced there would be no course records broken in the heat. Thermometers hovered above 80 but it felt even warmer, and early advice that a cooler breeze would be ahead on the course was not how many runners experienced it.
Even before the runners and walkers took to the course, people were chugging water on the school lawn to cool themselves near the start of the race at Wilson Circle. The usual organized group exercises prior to the race didn’t occur, but a few participants were seen stretching, and Dr. Adipietro kept reminding everyone to stay hydrated.
Former Olympian Bill Rodgers, best known as “Boston Billy” for four victories in the Boston Marathon, including three straight from 1978 to 1980, and four straight wins in the New York City Marathon, said prior to the race that he’s always nervous before he competes. The heat wasn’t going to improve the situation. He chose to run the 5K, posted a respectable time. “Shelter Island,” he said, “is still a great challenge and a wonderful race.”
This year’s race was dedicated to Andy Reeve, a 10-year Shelter Island Fire Commissioner with 25 years working as a volunteer with the Fire Department. Mr. Reeve passed away on April 28. His wife, BJ Ianfolla, a former Town councilwoman, was unable to be at Saturday’s race because she wasn’t feeling well. Race Director Mary Ellen Adipietro, her voice choked with emotion for her friend, called Mr. Reeve “a great guy” and said he was passionate about his work with the Fire Department and the Board of Fire Commissioners.
Mr. Reeve was also a lifelong sailor who built and repaired boats, worked for Coecles Harbor Marina and his own company, Peconic Marine Services. He also worked for North Ferry.
Lenore Berner gave a stirring rendition of the National Anthem and Johanna Kaasik, this year’s Shelter Island High School Class of 2025’s Valedictorian, led the crowds of athletes and viewers assembled at Wilson Circle in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Sam Levine of NYU Langone Health (the company was the major sponsor of this year’s race) talked about his grandfather, Milt Levine, who ran the Shelter Island race 46 years ago, the first race of this series.
Islander Dan Lockhart, 44, said it was a tough go on parts of the course along Cobbetts Lane and Winthrop Road, where he encountered hills. But he said the heat didn’t get to him as much as it did others because he spent most of his training time in Naples, Fla.
Another Islander, Liam Adipietro, son of Dr. Frank and Mary Ellen Adipietro, was accompanied by a group of his Villanova Wildcats friends as they ran the course.
The only runners who appeared relatively unfazed by the heat appeared to be young ones. The staff manning the medical tent, who might have expected many participants to head their way, had a relatively easy time, mostly treating runners for cramps, with the majority of participants heading for tents on Fiske Field where water and fruit awaited.
