Greater Moriches coverage is funded in part by Angels of Long Island, a charitable nonprofit. Shopping at the Angels’ Mastic and Patchogue thrift stores helps Long Island families in need. Or, click here to donate.
Rob Pickard joined track at William Floyd High School in his senior in 2007. He’s been running the Smith Point Bridge 5K Run for Literacy for years. This year, he crossed the line in first place for the first time with a time of 17:08.
“I would have like to break 17, but the wind made it rough,” he said. “The high school kids were making me work the whole first two miles.”
It was also Zariel Macchia’s first time finishing as the top female racer in the Smith Point Bridge 5K. Actually, except for the time she ran the same race last year, this was only her second race. The 13-year-old William Floyd Middle School student from Shirley had run with her family and this summer started training with the high school varsity track team.
“This is the only race I’ve ever run,” she said. “Before that, I just ran for fun.”
More than 300 racers participated in this year’s 5K, which is organized by Mastics-Moriches Community Library to benefit its Family Literacy Project, the William Floyd High School Scholarship Fund and the Reach Out and Read program at the HRHCare Marilyn Shellabarger Health Center.
Take a look at some scenes from the event:
