Arts & Entertainment
A Runway Kickoff to the Sayville Summer Series
A new addition to the series starts with a race to support vets at MacArthur Airport.
The Sayville Summer Series kicked off on June 4 with an amazing turnout at the second annual 5K Run for .
Close to 2,000 runners came out to support a worthy cause, raising more than $60,000 for the charity. That number was almost double the 1,255 runners who supported the inaugural race in 2010 and raised $45,000.
The race benefits Long Island 9-1-1 Veterans, which provides financial aid to struggling veterans all over Long Island who suffer from PTSD, combat injuries and economic hardship.
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Town of Islip Supervisor Phil Nolan and Chrystyna Kestler, whose son Army First Lt. Joseph Theinert died in combat in Afghanistan last year, took to the stage prior to the race to thank all the attendees for their support.
As the runners and walkers made their way to the start, they were surrounded by quite a few military men and women running in their full gear. Military men and women were also stationed at a dozen different checkpoints throughout the race, which started on the south side of the runway and then onto the actual runway. Hanging over the finish line was an oversized American flag.
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After the race, participants had the opportunity to visit with dozens of different vendors, many of which offered free samples and day of race specials. Sole Mio provided hundreds of pizza pies for the racers and Southwest Airlines was giving away cookies, crackers and peanuts.
The overall winners of the race were: Dan McGrath (28) at 15:48; Billy Holl (25) at 16:02; and Shaun McGrath (32) at 16:16. The top three women were: Heidi Nathan (27) at 19:27; Sayville’s Jennifer King (31) at 19:33; and Amie Balisteri (36) at 20:02.
First time runner Nancy Buttine Stiek from Port Washington was extremely happy to have completed her first race while also donating to a charity. She also raises money for a charity called AFRFAF, which helps families of deployed reservists.
This is the first year that the folks at added the Run for Veterans to their lineup for the Sayville Summer Series. The series now consists of five races in different parts of Sayville to benefit various charitable organizations. On Saturday, June 11, the second race of the series, the Keith Nintzel 5K Memorial Run, will take place at 9 a.m. at The Common Ground.
