SOUND TO BAY 10K
After taking fall, Kenna lands up on top
By Bob Liepa
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The New York City woman was running Saturday in East Moriches, where she has a house, preparing for the following day's 10th annual Sound to Bay 10K road race when she took a tumble. An unseen branch on the ground caused Kenna to trip and fall, bruising her knees and elbows.
As a result, Kenna said she had no expectations for Sunday's race. Not only did she decline to warm up, she didn't even stretch out. "This race, I thought I would jog it," Kenna said, "and I ended up feeling good."
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Kenna, 43, won the women's race in 41 minutes 15 seconds, which was 3:32 faster than the next fastest female finisher, Sharon Zuhoski.
"I think I'm just lucky," Kenna, one of a handful of New York Harriers running club members who competed, said shortly after crossing the finish line at South Jamesport Beach. "There are a lot of talented runners on Long Island, and they must all be doing something else because I shouldn't win the race like this."
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Kenna's friend Susan Bayat started out fast and went in front before Kenna passed her for the lead about a half-mile into the race, which started at Iron Pier Beach in Northville. From then on, it was all Kenna, enjoying the pastoral scenery along the way.
"I grew up on the streets of Brooklyn, so to see farms and vineyards, it's unbelievable," she said. "I pinch myself. I'm afraid some of the [race] leaders are really battling it out, and they don't take the time to look around. It's really beautiful."
Kenna knew where she stood in the race, thanks to the encouragement of spectators who shouted out "First lady!" to her as she made her way along the course. Asked what she was thinking about as she kept pushing forward, Kenna replied, "A western omelet and a Bloody Mary."
Bayat was later passed by Zuhoski, Kellie Stamm (46:06) and Judith Wines (46:34), and had to settle for fifth place in 47:04, seven seconds ahead of sixth-place Sue Connolly. The rest of the top 10 female finishers were Moira Tuohy (47:22), Emily Malloy (47:24), Meghan Fay (47:48) and Vicki Edwards (47:49).
Moran, 32, wasn't thinking about winning either. His aim was to run 5:30 mile splits. "That's about as fast as I can run without really hurting badly," said the former College of William & Mary and St. Anthony's High School cross-country and track and field athlete.
With a 5:29 pace, Moran won easily, although the race for second place came down to the wire, with Bryan Knipfing of Shelter Island Heights surging ahead of Paul Murphy at the finish line. Knipfing earned the runner-up spot with a time of 35:13, which was one second faster than Murphy's time. They were followed by Timothy Murphy (36:00), David Briggs (36:27) and Bill Gironda (37:20).
And then there was a surprise. Twelve-year-old Hunter Owens of Stony Brook drew enthusiastic applause as he captured seventh place in 38:27. Brian Mangham of Wading River was eighth in 38:41, Nicholas Troisi of Cutchogue was ninth in 39:39 and David Colletta of Rockville Centre took 10th in 39:42.
"It's always nice to win, but that wasn't my goal," said Moran, who had to contend with a painful left knee that he said was the result of years of overuse.
When the final three runners -- Natalie Dickhoff, Eileen Benthal and Mary Cataldo -- finished in a little over 1:32, they received a rousing hand.
Race director Mario Carrera called it the biggest and best Sound to Bay 10K yet. In all, 286 athletes completed the race.
"It's the best run we've ever had," Carrera said. "It's not often when you can run from one body of water, Long Island Sound, to Peconic Bay on the other. You don't have many races like that, so it's kind of unique."
The weather cooperated, with cloud cover protecting the runners from the sun's rays.
"It was great," said Tim Bialeski of Mattituck, who was 35th in 43:17. "It was cloudy. The sun didn't pull out until the last mile, so it wasn't as hot as it should be."
The lesson of the day for Kenna may have been that it's not a bad thing not to have expectations entering a race. After her run, though, Kenna experienced something she could have expected, saying, "I'm a little sore now."
It was only understandable.
