Nearly 500 Descend Upon Sag Harbor for the 11th Annual Katy's Courage 5K

Nearly 500 runners and walkers descended on Sag Harbor Saturday morning for the 11th annual Katy’s Courage 5K, slightly down from he 600 or so who welcomed the race back to a live, in-person event last year after a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic.

Sergey Avramenko, the Belarus native who has certainly made a name for himself on the East End road racing circuit the past few years, won the 3.1-mile race in 16:15.90, a mile pace of 5:14. The 38-year-old had raced before in Sag Harbor, but not in Katy’s Courage. He ran in last summer’s Jordan’s Run, which follows a much different route.

Avramenko said Saturday’s race was his third since returning to the East End from Eastern Europe, and he’s won all three. He said he plans to run in the Bridgehampton 5K, as part of the Bridgehampton Half Marathon, next month, and after finding out about the inaugural Rob Long “See You Out There” 5K that’s taking place in East Quogue this Saturday, April 29, he said he may check that out since he’s living in neighboring Hampton Bays now.

“I started running back in March,” he said. “I need strong opponents to improve my time because I’m pretty much stepping in one place. I’m running, like, 5:15 per mile. If I have someone stronger and faster than me I’ll improve my time.

“These [5Ks] are good training sessions, good tempo runs,” Avramenko added. “I’m pretty satisfied with my time. The route was spot on, too. Sometimes they can be shorter or longer than 3.1 miles.”

Neil Falkenhan, 39, of East Hampton placed second overall in 16:49.22, while Brayan Rivera, a junior at East Hampton High School, currently one of the top runners for the varsity cross country and track teams there, placed third in 17:08.25. Eric Perez, 25, an East Hampton High School graduate, placed fourth overall in 18:23.35, while Liam Knight, 15, of East Hampton, and a teammate of Rivera’s, rounded out the top five in 18:26.61.

Last year’s overall champion, Erik Engstrom, did not return for this year’s race, but the reigning female champion Alyssa Bahel did. The 25-year-old was the first female to cross the finish line once again on Saturday in 20:42.02, just slightly off from last year’s 20:08.48.

Alexandra Ehart, 24, of Patchogue finished second among females in 21:21.87, while Joyce Arbia, 21, of Sag Harbor finished third in 21:49.37. Josephine Mott, 12, of Sag Harbor, and one of the top runners on Pierson’s varsity cross country team, finished fourth in 22:06.61 and Debbie Merrick, 53, rounded out the top five in 22:56.65.

All race results can be found at elitefeats.com.

“I always like to run this race. It’s like the first race of the season, you know, so it always shows me if I’m in shape or not, which I feel like I’m not so it kind of helps me train better for the next one,” Bahel said. “I feel good though. It’s such a fun race, such a good cause and there’s always so many people out for this race. It’s an exciting start to the summer.”

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 Jim Stewart and Brigid Collins, who died of hepatoblastoma, a rare form of liver cancer, on December 30, 2010, at 12 years old.

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, or CMEE, 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.