How can I give up on my 17-year-old workhorse of a car with 287,000 miles on it? It’s like a member of the family, gamely limping on to its final reward.

Anthony Daunt, Groundworks Landscaping’s 32-year-old project manager, added to his lengthening list of ultra challenges a recent 127-mile, 46-hour Times Square-to-Montauk Lighthouse Skyline to Shoreline run that he did to raise money for children who have cancer.

It was almost balmy on New Year’s Day when around 500 intrepid people plunged into the ocean at East Hampton Village’s Main Beach, with at least twice as many fellow citizens cheering them on.