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The husband and wife team of Worku Beyi, 21, and Buzunesh Deba, 20—both of Ethiopia—made quite an impression at the 29th annual Shelter Island 10K in Shelter Island on Saturday afternoon.
Beyi, who took second overall in 2006, was the overall winning runner with a time of 29:49 (4:48 pace), while his wife was the third fastest female, finishing in 36:15 (5:50 pace).
The course record of 28:41, set last year by Alena Reta, remained intact, as did the women’s record of 33:17, set by Maria Luisa Servin in 1997. Attendance swelled to 1,250 runners this year, after the race was moved back to its traditional June date. Last year, the race was run in May, which race founder Cliff Clark said resulted in a low turnout of just 800 participants.
Beyi collected $1,000 in prize money and two free round-trip tickets from JetBlue Airlines, one of the event’s sponsors, while Deba won $300. The top five overall male and female finishers each received cash prizes, ranging from $1,000 to $150. The sixth through 10th place runners each received $75. In the masters division, the top three runners among males and females received $300, $200 and $100, respectively.
After the race, Beyi stood with his arm around his wife and complimented her for a strong performance. He said they train together all the time, and admitted that they are often competitive with each other. When asked if she ever gets the better of him, however, Beyi laughed, saying: “She can’t beat me.”
Both Beyi and his wife are up-and-coming runners and have made a name for themselves since moving to the United States in March 2006. Beyi runs for the Westchester Track Club and has his sights set on making the 2012 Olympics.
Beyi beat out a number of elite runners who are always in attendance at the Shelter Island 10K, many of whom hail from Ethiopia or Kenya, including Demesse Tefera, 25, of Ethiopia, whom Beyi used to live with when he first moved to New York in 2006. Tefera took second in 29:53 (4:49) and battled his former roommate for the lead throughout the race. Beyi and Tefera were separated by just one second after the first five kilometers (3.1 miles), with splits of 14:21 and 14:22, respectively.
Deresse Deniboba, 26, also of Ethiopia was third in 30:22 (4:54), while Theophilas Musyoki Musy, 19, of Kenya was fourth in 30:29 (4:55) and John Itati, 34, of Kenya rounded out the top five in 30:57 (4:59).
The women’s overall title looked like it was going to be won by Silvia Skvortsova, 33, of Russia before she collapsed from dehydration as she entered the chute with the finish line just 50 yards away.
“It was scary,” race founder Cliff Clark said. “I’ve seen it before, so I felt confident that it was just dehydration, but you never know until the medical team takes over.”
After receiving an IV in the medical tent, Skvortsova recovered sufficiently to avoid being taken to the hospital.
After she collapsed, Aziza Aliyu, 22, of Ethiopia passed her, finishing first among females and 14th overall in 34:18 (5:32). Diane Nukuri, 23, of Burundi—who will be competing in the Olympics in Beijing this summer—was second among females in 35:16 (5:41), followed by Deba. Caroline Bierbaum, 24, of Southampton was fourth in 36:26 (5:52) while Lyndsey Webber, 26, of Sayville was fifth in 38:11 (6:09).
The heat was a factor in the race, as evidenced by Skvortsova’s unfortunate finish. Clark said that volunteers did a great job keeping up with the situation, bringing in another 45 cases of water to keep up with the increased consumption.
“It was what I expected,” Bierbaum said after the race of the heat. “I knew it was going to be hot, but it wasn’t too bad.”
Bierbaum was competing in the race for the first time in five years and said she was happy overall with her performance and also enjoyed the course.
“It was very scenic and rolling,” she said. “I didn’t expect the ups and downs. Five years ago, I ran it a lot slower. This was the first time for me doing it at this fitness level. I wanted to be in the 5:50 pace, but I definitely went out too fast, which always happens.”
In the masters division, Paul Mwangi, 41, of Kenya took first among males in 32:54 (5:18 pace), while in the female masters division, Diane Kenna, 43, of New York was first in 40:16 (6:29). As the winners of the masters divisions, both Mwangi and Kenna won round-trip airfare for two from JetBlue.
Jesse Walsh, 23, of Huntington was the first competitor to cross the finish line and won the wheelchair division with a time of 31:35 (5:05). Among Shelter Island entrants, Lehr was the top male finisher followed by Mark Dennes, 39, in 40:23 (6:30). Lauren Laviola, 26, was the top female Shelter Island entry, finishing in 43:27 (7:00) while Peg Diorio, 41, was second in 47:18 (7:37).
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