The Seventh Annual Jordan's Run Takes Place on Namesake's Birthday

The seventh annual Jordan’s Run on Sunday morning just so happened to fall on what would have been Jordan Haerter’s 35th birthday, making the run all the more significant to his hometown of Sag Harbor.

Lance Corporal Haerter, along with Corporal Jonathan Yale, were killed in action on April 22, 2008, trying to stop a truck loaded with 2,000 pounds of explosives from barreling into the entrance they were guarding at a joint security station in Ramadi, Iraq, in Anbar province. Eight years later, JoAnn Lyles, Haerter’s mother, created the 5K in her son’s memory, and for their organization, In Jordan’s Honor, Ltd.

“We’re building momentum again since COVID, so that feels good,” Lyles said after the race, which saw 418 cross the finish line, close to the nearly 500 that crossed in 2019. “It turned out to be a great day.

“I’m proud of everybody. They do so well coming out here,” she added. “We’re so lucky it’s a good day, temperature-wise today, and everything about it looks beautiful to me. Red, white and blue beautiful.”

Jordan’s Run is part of the Suffolk County Veterans’ Run Series and one of many across Long Island. Of the over 400 who ran the race, 38 were veterans and eight were active duty military members, either in person or virtually. Lyles said there were members at Camp Pendleton in California and unknown locations around the world who were completing the race virtually.

Starting and ending at Pierson High School, the course was chosen to pass by important places in Haerter’s life, including his school, the village, the marina where he used to work, the Lance Cpl. Jordan Haerter Veterans’ Memorial Bridge, formerly the North Haven-Sag Harbor Bridge, now named in his honor, and lastly the cemetery where he’s buried.

Sergey Avramenko, 38, continued his torrid summer by winning Sunday’s 3.1-mile race in 16:24.73, a mile pace of 5:17. The Belarusian native who calls the South Fork home during the summer was only two weeks removed from winning the Joe Koziarz 5K in Westhampton Beach. He was winning last year’s Jordan’s Run until a wrong turn by the pace car, he said, cost him about 15 seconds and with it the top spot. Avramenko said that while a victory wasn’t his ultimate goal on Sunday, it was nice to come back and win it and settle some unfinished business.

“Fortunately, this morning was really fresh and cool, so it was easy to compete,” he said. “On the other hand, those hills. Even though we had downhill in the beginning, I was trying to pull myself, and then when the hills started, I felt tired, maybe because this week was intense. I did two training sessions around the track yesterday. I did 10x100 uphill. Maybe I didn’t have to do it, but I decided that this race was for a PR. I was just taking part for fun.”

Avramenko said both of his next races will be in Southampton, first the Hope for Depression 5K this Sunday, August 6, then two weeks later at Ellen’s Run on August 20.

Auge Martin, 16, of Sierra Madre, California, placed second overall in 16:55.66, followed by Neil Falkenhan, 39, of East Hampton, who finished third overall in 16:57.33. Ben Fleischman, 35, of New York City finished fourth in 17:00.16 and Aidan Guzman, 16, of South Pasadena, California, rounded out the top five overall, crossing the finish line in 17:26.05.

Alyssa Bahel, 25, of Wainscott was the female champion of Sunday’s race, finishing in 20:02.39. Tara Farrell, 44, of East Quogue finished second among women in 20:12.32. Katherine Wallace, 25, of New York City and Sarah Floyd, 33, of Boston finished back-to-back in 21:16.34 and 21:23.10, respectively. And then Sofia Galvan, 15, of Hampton Bays wrapped up the top five women finishers in 21:58.92.

Although local, Bahel had never taken part in Jordan’s Run prior to Sunday. She enjoyed it.

“That was kind of fun, like, not knowing the course,” she said. “I kind of like hilly runs because I like going fast on the downhill. That’s how I increase my overall time, usually.”

Bahel said she’s in the midst of training for the Hamptons Marathon, coming up in September. It will be her third marathon, having completed the Philadelphia Marathon last November, when she was able to qualify for the Boston Marathon by finishing under the prerequisite 3 hour and 30 minute time limit.

“So I’ve been doing a lot of long distance runs,” she explained. “This past week, 16 [miles] was my long run, so I’m trying to increase it each week and that’s definitely been helping with the smaller races, improving my time.”

As previously mentioned, proceeds from the run support In Jordan’s Honor, Ltd., a memorial foundation in honor of Haerter that, among other things, helps Pierson High School graduates who choose to serve their country through the military or law enforcement, as Jordan wanted to do. This year’s recipient was Gavin Gilbride, who will join the U.S. Air Force and leaves for boot camp later this month.

As is done after each Jordan’s Run, an excerpt taken from the speech, “The Last Six Seconds,” written by General John Kelly after the deaths of Haerter and Yale, was read to conclude Sunday’s festivities.

“In all of the instantaneous violence, Yale and Haerter never hesitated. They never stepped back. They never even started to step aside … with their feet spread, shoulder-width apart, they leaned into the danger, firing as fast as they could work their weapons.”