Headwinds and heavy legs from the New York City Marathon didn’t slow down Erik Engstrom on Sunday, when, for the third year in a row, he was the first to break the tape at the Dock Closing Race in Montauk. The 28-year-old finished the 3.3-mile course — from the Montauk Post Office to the Dock restaurant on Montauk Harbor — in 17:13.93, his fastest time at the race to date.
“I definitely had to really try. The kid in second took it out hard and almost got me for the first mile. I had to catch up,” Engstrom said. “I didn’t think I was going to get him. He started to sprint first and then I had to go for the last quarter mile.”
That “kid” was Vincent Simonetti, 23, who hung on to second place, finishing less than seven seconds behind Engstrom with a time of 17:20.66. The third-place finisher was Marshall Borrus, 34, in 19:08.77.
Eleven-year-old Zoey Falkenhan of Springs won the women’s division, finishing sixth overall with a time of 20:32.84. Beth Trezza, 64, finished second among the women in 21:18:10. Erik’s sister, Ava Engstrom, 23, finished third in 21:40.71.
“It was really fun. I love this race,” Falkenhan said. “I actually felt really good. I felt like it was one of my stronger races here.” It certainly was. She bested her time from last year by more than two and a half minutes.
Wesley Ringelmann, 11, won the youth (12-and-under) division in 23:01.23. Oscar Watson, 9, came in second in 23:32.30. Henry Schippers, 10, finished third in 23:50.83.
Falkenhan got some help from the stroller-division winner, Jonathan Jamet, who was shouting out directions so she knew when to turn left and right. He and his 4-year-old son, Henry, finished the race just six seconds behind her, with a time of 20:38.84. It was their third win in a row as well.
So what’s their winning strategy?
“Enjoy the uphills and pray your shins don’t explode on the downhills. The downhills always hurt even without added weight. Hurts for sure but Henry’s a great co-pilot and an even tougher coach,” Jonathan Jamet said after the race while sipping one of the free Montauk Brewing Company beers for participants over age 21. “Wave Chaser [beer] is helping for sure. I actually have to hustle back and open up Montauk Brewing’s tasting room right around now o’clock, so gotta keep running.”
Henry had three words to describe the Dock Race, and most everyone would agree: “fun, fast, and good!”
