Yonas Mebrahtu of Eritrea Wins Shelter Island 10K

Yonas Mebrahtu of the African country Eritrea won first place at the 35th Annual Shelter Island Run 10K on Saturday, June 21.

The 26-year-old Mebrahtu, who won the Brooklyn Half Marathon with a time of 1:04:23 in May, crossed the finish line at 29 minutes and 6 seconds, just ahead of 29-year-old Isaac Kitur, who finished second in 29:10.14.

Coming off eight weeks of post-victory P.R. following his historic win at the Boston Marathon, Mebrahtom “Meb” Keflizighi (also a native of Enitrea), was outrun by Mebrahtu at a blistering first-mile pace of 4.25 and finished fourth overall at 30:24.

Frances Koons, a 28-year-old former Villanova University star runner from Pennsylvania, was the top female finisher with a time of 34:26.

The Shelter Island Run 10K has a long history of attracting elite runners from all over the world, including Simon Ndirangu and Malika Mejdou.

Sitting between the Twin Forks, the Shelter Island 10K has been touted as one of the country’s most beautiful runs by Runner’s World magazine. With a pre-sunset start time of 5:30 p.m., the race showcases picturesque views of the harbor, the island’s abundance of nature and the exceptionally warm community.

The event benefitted East End Hospice, Timothy Hill Children’s Ranch and the Shelter Island Run Community Fund.

Check out this video of the day by James Jack.