A Rare Doubleheader: Kraus Runs Shelter Island 5K, Gets Married In Afternoon

By Brett Mauser

Shelter Island native Janelle Kraus smiles at fiance Bill Nadeau, whom hours after the Shelter Island 5K she married. Photos courtesy Mary Ellen Adipietro

Shelter Island - Even before the race started, Janelle Kraus was in a celebratory mode. The day was to be grand, no matter how she finished in her hometown race, Saturday's Shelter Island 5K Run/Walk For Breast Cancer. She was back home, she had her best of friends beside her, and after the race was over, they'd all get back together again for her wedding that afternoon.

Janelle Kraus (1), fiance Bill Nadeau (left, in white) and much of the wedding party begin their day with a 3.1 mile run.

It was quite a day indeed for Kraus and her Shelter Island family. Wearing a veil and a shirt that aptly read "BRIDE", Kraus finished in 25th place overall in the race, posting a modest time of 21 minutes, 32 seconds. Her wedding party, including nutritionist and fiancé Bill Nadeau, was there the whole way, and if anything, the early workout might have toned down any pre-event jitters she might have had.

Kraus is the only high school state champion that Shelter Island has ever had. She went on to become a nine-time Atlantic Coast Conference champion at Wake Forest, a four-time NCAA All-American and a 2001 and 2002 Team USA representative at the World University Games. She is currently an assistant men's and women's cross country coach at Stony Brook University.

Among those participating in both the race and the wedding were Roisin McGettigan, a finalist in the women's steeplechase at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing as well as the Irish national record holder in the steeple and the indoor mile; Marie Davenport, a long distance entrant in the 1996 and 2004 Olympics; and Amy Mortimer, a 12-time All-American and five-time Big 12 track champion at Kansas State.

The community came out to support its own elite runner who went on to star at Wake Forest.

Not to be outdone was Bryan Knipfing of Sound Beach. The former Shelter Island resident made repeating as race champ look easy, hitting the finish line in 16 minutes, 44 seconds to win by nearly a minute over second-place Ken Rideout (17:39). Knipfing's time just beat his 2008 winning mark of 16:52. Hampton Bays' Angel Rojas won the race in 2007 but topped 17 minutes.

Rounding out the top 10, Peter Duyan took third in 18:03 just ahead of fourth-place Tim Kuhner (18:09); both are former runners at Bowdoin College in Maine. McGettigan placed fifth overall and Davenport sixth before the first local runner, East Hampton's Jorge Flores, came across in 18:24. Kyle Fletcher of Sag Harbor took eighth (19:11) while Ben Segal (19:21) and Kevin Barry (19:28), both Shelter Island residents, placed ninth and 10th respectively. Full race results are available at www.flrrt.com/results/si5k09.txt.

Altogether, close to 350 runners and walkers crossed the finish line on Saturday and all for a good cause. Proceeds from the 5K were evenly split between the North and South Fork Breast Health Coalitions, who prior to the weekend had received more than $180,000.

Shelter Island IGA provided a free barbecue for all entrants at the conclusion of the race. Raffle prizes were also given out, including lunch at the American Hotel, gift certificates to local establishments, and from local restaurants such as Vine Street Café and Sweet Tomatoes to East Hampton Indoor Tennis.