With Sergey Avramenko, the 40-year-old native of Belarus who has owned Ellen’s Run for four years, taking it easy with an 8-minute-per-mile pace, this year’s race on Sunday in Southampton was up for grabs, and Karl von Sanden, a 23-year-old Uruguayan, took full advantage, leading wire to wire, and thus topping the field of 768 finishers in 17 minutes and 3.96 seconds. After crossing the line he said he’d never finished higher than sixth in three previous appearances.
It was the 30th anniversary of this race, which Dr. Julie Ratner began holding at East Hampton High School in memory of her late sister, Ellen Hermanson, who died of breast cancer at the age of 42. The Ellen Hermanson Foundation that Ratner, who was among Sunday’s participants, founded, has for the better part of a generation now not only underwritten research efforts, but has also, through the Ellen Hermanson Breast Center at Stony Brook Southampton Hospital, provided early diagnoses, treatment, and after-care.
Von Sanden, who lives in England and summers in Southampton, said it was his best 5K performance to date. “I made my move at the first corner, knowing that I could go faster. I looked back once, at the guy in the green shirt and black shorts, and took off.”
The guy in the green shirt and black shorts, Mark Schwartz, a 41-year-old masters runner from New York City, wound up as the runner-up to von Sanden, in 17:16.52. Sean Mahon, 39, was third, in 17:33.10, and Penelope Greene, 22, of Noyac, the women’s winner, was fourth, in 17:43.10.
“Oh yeah, I’m happy with my time,” said Greene, a nine-time all-American SUNY Geneseo graduate — and the holder of four records there — who’s working, and carbo loading, this summer at an Italian-American restaurant, Arthur and Sons, on the Bridgehampton-Sag Harbor Turnpike.
Judi Donnelly, 68, the 170th finisher, in 28:08.82, was the top finishing breast cancer survivor, for the seventh time, she said. “I’ve been cancer-free for 30 years — just like the run,” she added. A shin bone stress fracture had given her problems in the past year, she said, though she returned to racing recently.
“Undaunted.”
“Yes,” she said with a smile, “undaunted.”
Romulo Tubatan, 48, an East Hamptoner, placed 32nd, in 21:43.08, which made him happy, he said. He continues to play competitively in the 7-on-7 men’s soccer league for the Tortorella Pools team that was a finalist last fall, but which, as of Tuesday, has been winless this season.
It was her first time at Ellen’s Run for Raya O’Neal, 29, a former East Hamptoner who lives in Los Angeles now. She runs a coffee shop there with Jack Della Femina, a grandson of Jerry Della Femina. She’s been training for the Every Woman’s Marathon in Scottsdale, Ariz., which is to take place on Nov. 16, but learned that morning, she said, that “it’s good to run with others — more enjoyable.” While she ran, Tina Giles, O’Neal’s sister, a retired bilingual East Hampton Town police officer who owns the Hamptons Driving School, looked after Winnie, O’Neal’s toy Australian shepherd.
“Whoa — we did it!” O’Neal said, holding her medal out for a photo.
