The Gay Head 10K is unique among the many Island road races, first by distance, and also because of the backdrop in the homestretch, as the winning runner passes the famed Gay Head Lighthouse on the way around Aquinnah Circle to the finish line.
On a cloudy, windy Sunday morning, Rene Da Silva of Vineyard Haven claimed his second win in the sixth annual event, which benefits the Save the Gay Head Light Committee, leading 148 runners to the finish in 38:46.21.
Ryan Sawyer of Edgartown ran second in 39:50.78, more than two minutes in front of third-place Vlad Trifanica of Sibiu, Romania, who clocked in at 41:52.65. From there, the runners were more tightly packed. Westford’s Marc Cajolet and Chris Cajolet of West Tisbury finished in a dead heat for fourth and fifth, with times of 42:20.28 and 42:20.37. Levi Lilienthal of South Portland, Maine (42:39.53), Peter Septoff of Cambridge (43:23.27), and Andrew La Manna of New York City (43:30.34) took spots six through eight.
Mary Clabby of Marietta, Ga., was the women’s winner, and ran ninth overall in 43:59.08. Alex Testa of Reading, the fastest woman in the 2015 race, closed out the top 10 with a time of 44:08.38.
Island runners held down 40 percent of positions 11 through 50. Luke Meher of Mystic, Conn. (44:15.69), was 11th, followed by: 12. Bridget Bergen, Boston, 44:20.68; 13. Chris Langlais, North Falmouth, 44:23.51; 14. Emily Ganley, Boston, 45:30.47; 15. Kevin McGettigan, Belmont, N.H., 45:42.61; 16. Dorothy Cronin, Dorchester, 46:01.87; 17. Adyler Depaula, Vineyard Haven, 46:21.92; 18. Ali Davidson, New York, N.Y., 46:32.05; 19. Kate MacLean, Chelsea, Vt., 46:41.91; 20. Joel Graves, Edgartown, 46:52.19; 21. Sarah Morris, Providence, R.I., 47:01.02; 22. Peter Tagge, Watertown, 47:16.43; 23. Brynn Rickstad, Vineyard Haven, 47:46.58; 24. Christopher Edwards, Edgartown, 47:46.69; 25. Peter Hatt, Edgartown, 47:52.58; 26. John Standwood, West Tisbury, 47:59.07; 27. Bryan McShea, Edgartown, 48:41.49; 28. Eliska Suryckova, Vineyard Haven 48:56.80; 29. John Gill, Roslindale, 49:10.22; 30. Madeleine Conway, Roslindale, 49:20.24; 31. Katie Pertrillo, Boston, 49:21.58; 32. Andrew Oliveira, Boston, 49:32.28; 33. Otto Osmers, Chilmark, 49:44.15; 34. Michael Barjum, Wellesley, 49:52.48; 35. Cezar Pruteanu, Edgartown, 49:57.90; 36. Martha Tierney, Boston, 50:19.77; 37. Alexander Taylor, Aquinnah, 50:25.31; 38. David Martin, Sharon, 50:30.58; 39. Nicolle Curelli, Oak Bluffs, 50:38.26; 40. Anne Peddie, Middleboro, 50:39.12; 41. Lateefah Pree, Chilmark, 50:41.41; 42. Peter Rodegast, West Tisbury, 50:55.75; 43. Matthew Avery, Medford, 50:59.05; 44. Alicia Andre, Concord, 51:03.41; 45. Priscilla Karnovsky, Brookline, 51:10; 46. Kathleen Perchaluk, Kitchener, Ont., 51:17.28; 47. Dylan Kline, Danvers, 51:35.52; 48. David Wilson, Vineyard Haven, 51:43.68; 49. Corin Brown, Newton, 52:22.87; 50. Heather Quinn, Chilmark, 52:26.84.
For complete results, visit coolrunning.com.