The Joe Koziarz Memorial 5K Successfully Returns To Westhampton Beach

The Joe Koziarz Memorial 5K returned to Westhampton Beach on Saturday after a two-year hiatus, and even after that long break and a number of changes to the race, including to the course, much to do with the completion of the revitalization of Westhampton Beach Main Street, everything seemed to go off without a hitch.

The race had 317 registered, which is right around the same number for the last “live” race in 2019, which happened during a heat wave. But with all of the changes, race coordinator Mike Koziarz, the son of the race’s namesake, thought everything went great.

“I thought it was one of our best races,” he said. “The weather held out. It was very well received, even more so than I thought it was going to be. I think the village was happy. The police did an awesome job. Normally you get some complaints here and there, usually you get something, even some small things. This year we didn’t have any complaints. When you change something you never know what to expect, but I think this was fantastic.”

The biggest change of the race was the start of the race. The past few races began on Library Avenue, but on Saturday the start occurred at the corner of Mitchell and Stevens Lane, about 200 yards or so from where the finish line was farther east on Stevens near the Village Marina. Runners crossed over bridges from Beach Lane to Dune Road, and then from Dune Road to Jessup Lane.

As it turned out, though, the changes in the course didn’t seem to matter much as the overall male and female champions ran in the race for the first time on Saturday.

Jeffrey Ares, 38, of New York City and Westhampton Beach, was the first to cross the finish line in 16:21.24, a mile pace of 5:16. He only beat out Jason Green, 19, of Shelter Island by a couple of meters — Green finished in 16:27.17. Nick Berglin, 25, of Hampton Bays was dethroned as reigning champion, but still managed to finish third overall in 16:54.76. Cole Fleuehr, 25, finished fourth overall in 17:20 and Graham Poliner, 41, of Maplewood, New Jersey, rounded out the top five in 18:05.09.

Ares said he was unsure he would catch up to Green until one of the final turns onto Jessup Lane. Eventually, he caught up to Green, stayed with him for a little bit before making one final surge.

“I just kind of put my head down and ran has hard as I could so he wouldn’t catch me,” he said.

“It’s my first time running this race,” Ares added. “I’ve been meaning to do it the past couple of years, but then it got canceled and then it was virtual, and I didn’t want to do that. I signed up, wasn’t sure I was going to be able to do it, but made it out. I knew I had a chance to be top five if I showed up. When we went out, I thought this was too hot, but it ended up working out.”

Kimberly Donahue, 33, of Charleston, South Carolina, and Westhampton Beach was the female champion, crossing the finish line in 19:18.13. Aileen Barry, 40, of Manhasset, crossed right after Donahue in 19:33.62. Rose Hayes, 18, fresh off of graduation from nearby Westhampton Beach High School, finished third among women in 20:24.97. Her teammate from the Westhampton Beach cross country and track teams Keira Falvey, finished fourth in 20:33.30 and Kim LiCalzi, 39, of Manhasset was the fifth female to cross the finish line in 20:36.86.

Full results can be found at elitefeats.com

Donahue ran the race once before, at least 15 years ago she said, when it was known as the Westhampton Beach 5K.

“I wasn’t going to run it. I didn’t sign up until this morning,” she said. “I’m glad I did. I can honestly say I did not feel good at any point in that race,” she added, with a laugh.

“It’s nice to run Dune Road because it’s so classic looking, so I really like it a lot,” she said of the course. “You get a little bit of a breeze, which was not too bad today, which was nice.”

Race proceeds will continue to benefit local organizations such as the Southampton Town Police Athletic League, the Koziarz Hurricane Scholarship Fund and other local charities.