16 Photos
The Great Bonac Footraces were held in Springs on Monday morning. KYRIL BROMLEY
The Great Bonac Footraces were held in Springs on Monday morning. KYRIL BROMLEY
The Great Bonac Footraces were held in Springs on Monday morning. KYRIL BROMLEY
The Great Bonac Footraces were held in Springs on Monday morning. KYRIL BROMLEY
The Great Bonac Footraces were held in Springs on Monday morning. KYRIL BROMLEY
The Great Bonac Footraces were held in Springs on Monday morning. KYRIL BROMLEY
The Great Bonac Footraces were held in Springs on Monday morning. KYRIL BROMLEY
The Great Bonac Footraces were held in Springs on Monday morning. KYRIL BROMLEY
The Great Bonac Footraces were held in Springs on Monday morning. KYRIL BROMLEY
Neil Falkenhan of East Hampton won the 5K. KYRIL BROMLEY
Neil Falkenhan of East Hampton won the 5K. KYRIL BROMLEY
Erik Engstrom of East Hampton won the 10K. KYRIL BROMLEY
Evan Schaefer, 14, of East Hampton finishes up the 5K. KYRIL BROMLEY
Karina Barambayeva of Southampton was the female champion of the 10K. KYRIL BROMLEY
Henry Schippers, 6, of Brooklyn races toward the finish line with Beth Feit of East Hampton close on his trail. KYRIL BROMLEY
One of the longest running 10Ks on Long Island returned after a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Close to 200 people competed in the Great Bonac Footraces, which includes the aforementioned 10K along with a 5K run and 5K walk, this past Monday at the Springs Firehouse. Old Montauk Athletic Club President Sharon McCobb admitted she was slightly worried whether she had promoted the races enough, but with a couple of hundred runners competing, that was just fine after returning from its two-year long break.
East Hampton High School graduate Erik Engstrom crossed the finish line in 37:19.73 as the overall champion of the 10K, which is said to have started over 40 years ago, thus being one of Long Island’s oldest 6.2-mile races. George Lira, a 72-year-old Southampton resident, placed second in 41:49.49 followed by the overall female champion, Karina Barambayeva, 27, also of Southampton, who finished in 44:30.33. East Hampton High School varsity boys and girls swimming coach and local lifeguard Craig Brierley placed fourth in 46:09.69 and Sari Kessler, 56, of New York City rounded out the top five of the 10K in 48:33.96.
Neil Falkenhan, 38, of East Hampton, won the 5K in 17:18.89. Christian Loja, 35, of East Hampton placed second in 18:48.05 and Brayan Rivera, 16, one of the top runners on East Hampton’s varsity cross country and track teams, finished third in 19:19.79. Hanna Jerome, 26, of Sag Harbor was the female champion of the 5K, crossing the finish line in 20:24.06. Hudson Goulart, 14, of East Hampton completed the top five finishing in 21:11.26.
Full results can be found at elitefeats.com.
Proceeds from the race are shared between the Springs Fire Department and OMAC who puts the race on. OMAC has been supporting local athletes for decades and in a number of different ways such as scholarships — they provide three $1,000 scholarships to East Hampton High School graduating seniors each year — but they also help time the wellness race that the school district puts on and also help the cross country program get to its out-of-sate invitational each year.
