A Successful Return For Katy's Courage 5K With Close To 600 Runners, Walkers Participating In 10th Annual Race

Nearly 600 people made it to Sag Harbor on Saturday morning to participate in the 10th annual Katy’s Courage 5K, which made its anticipated return after a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Unofficially billed as the start of the East End road race season, 515 runners and walkers officially finished the race, but as Jim Stewart noted, there were people running and participating without bibs, making him think closer to 600 people were really involved, which would make it one of the biggest races in its 10-year history.

“Glad the weather held up,” he said. “It started out a little rainy earlier in the morning, but then the sun came out, turned out to be a wonderful day. It was not the largest race we’ve ever had, but definitely a good showing for the first time being back in a couple of years. With the way the weather can be in early April, we’re happy with the turnout.”

Katy’s Courage is a not-for-profit organization founded in 2012 that is dedicated to the education of children and support for families through scholarships, children’s bereavement support groups and pediatric cancer research. It was named after Katy Stewart, the daughter of Stewart and Brigid Collins, who died of hepatoblastoma, a rare form of liver cancer, on December 30, 2010, at 12 years old.

As usual, the 3.1-mile race was dominated by current and former high school athletes, which is fitting being that the race provides scholarships to many of them. Erik Engstrom, 23, a 2016 graduate of East Hampton High School who won the third annual Katy’s Courage race back in 2013 as a freshman, won Saturday’s race in 16:19.06, setting a mile pace of 5:15. He was followed by a handful of current high school runners, including Sag Harbor’s own P.J. Ramundo (17:13.14), and East Hampton’s Evan Masi (17:33.06), Amari Gordon (18:09.91) and Diego Rojas (18:11.10), who rounded out the top five.

Engstrom said it was nice to be back.

“It’s good that they had it,” he said. “I usually like to do it. If it’s going on and I’m home I’ll do it. I had Coach Stewart as a teacher and wrestling coach in middle school. I think I may have even went to preschool with Katy.

“I just forgot how hilly it was,” he added, with a laugh.

With a number of races out in East Hampton, and even more being added during the offseason, it’s most likely not the last time Engstrom will find himself champion of a local race.

“I’m not really, like, training for anything. I’m sure I’ll do them. Maybe I’ll race into shape a little bit.”

Another East Hampton alum, Alyssa Bahel, 24, who graduated in 2015, earned the female champion honors after crossing the finish line in 20:08.48. As Bahel herself noted, Sag Harbor 14-year-old Greylynn Guyer was ahead of her for 2 miles or so, but Bahel noticed her father, Mike, ahead of her so she turned it on toward the end of the race to win it. Guyer wound up finishing just seconds behind Bahel at 20:15.17.

Although she was happy she won, Bahel said she’s still looking to beat her father. One of these days, she said, as she’ll likely be participating in a number races this summer as well.

“I’ve done this Katy’s Courage 5K a couple of times when I was in high school. I hadn’t done it in six years, but it was great,” she said. “I had a bad injury over the winter. I kind of just started running again in February, so I’m very happy with the result because that could really put you off.”

Katherine Wallace, 23, of Sag Harbor finished third among women in 21:30.83. Maryam Lee, 39, of Southampton finished fourth in 22:20.53 and Joyce Arbia, 20, of Sag Harbor rounded out the top five women, finishing in 23:28.53.

All race results can be found at elitefeats.com

The race was originally organized by the East End Road and Trail Runners Club to benefit Katy’s Courage with net proceeds of this year’s race going toward local scholarships and in support of Katy’s Kids at the Children’s Museum of the East End, a center for grieving children and their families which offers play and expressive peer support opportunities. The focus of the peer group support is grief or loss and utilizes anything from art, music, poetry, dance/movement and drama in a friendly, familiar and supportive environment.

Stewart and his family thanked a number of people for their support including race director Nina Dohanos and Elite Feats for the timing of the race. They also thanked major sponsors Riverhead Building Supply, Goldberg’s Famous Bagels, Mimi Yardley, who baked cookies in the shape of ladybugs, the race logo, and Ross Berti Construction, which supplied the scaffolding that held up the race banner at the finish line. Stewart also thanked Shoshi Builders, Wainscott Sand & Gravel, and the East Hampton wrestling team for setting up the start/finish lines, and Sag Harbor Fire Department and Sag Harbor Elementary School Principal Matt Malone for providing tables and chairs. Lastly, Stewart thanked Chris Tice, Jennifer Walker and Terri Federico for all of their help.

“There are a lot of moving parts and it’s wonderful when everyone steps up,” Stewart said. “Together we’re stronger.”