Bert Jablon, 98, finishes 'Run for the Health of It' in Northport

When 98-year-old Bert Jablon crossed the finish line Saturday morning at the "Run for the Health of It" 5k in Northport, he did it with a defiant step and a smile as a raucous crowd cheered him on.

"I feel very good," Jablon said at the conclusion of the race. "I finished it, standing up," he quipped.

The Syosset running legend, who runs a 5k every two weeks, was among about 500 runners who took part in the annual race benefiting the Visiting Nurse Service & Hospice of Suffolk. The run, held during National Nurses Week, generated more than $40,000 — a record for the fundraiser, according to event organizers.

Jablon finished the 5-kilometer (or 3.1-mile) race in just under 1 hour and 4 minutes, navigating the hilly course undaunted.

His son, Clark Jablon, 64, said he has seen many people "throw in the towel" as they get older as his father continued to push forward.

"It's very inspirational," Clark Jablon said.

Bert Jablon, an Air Force veteran, worked in public health beginning in 1992 and, he said, felt it was important to support nurses, adding that it is important "to keep our nurses, happy, employed and well paid" on Long Island.

The longtime runner's participation in the race is "impressive," said John DeSpagna, president of the Northport Running Club.

DeSpagna said Jablon's consistency was "an incentive to everyone else to see how he stayed active and running over many, many decades."

Kelley Henneberry, director of the race, said the proceeds of the event were specifically being allocated to the Visiting Nurse Service's Hospice House Memorial Garden, on Laurel Road in East Northport, where families could purchase bricks to have their loved ones' names engraved and placed.

"It's such a special space," Henneberry said. "Every dollar here will go to expanding that garden."

The race, in its 25th year, is "especially meaningful" this year because it is centered on expanding a space dedicated to memorializing the lives of those who are cared for at the eight-bed Hospice House, said Susan Bruder, director of development and marketing for the Visiting Nurse Service & Hospice of Suffolk.

"That memorial garden is a place of comfort, it's a place of remembrance," Bruder said. "Our patients use it, their families, our staff and volunteers."

Silvia Cota, CEO of Visiting Nurse Service & Hospice of Suffolk, said the race generated "much-needed funds for our hospice program," which aims to take the strain off caregivers and make patients comfortable in their final days but operates at a net loss.

"We know it's the right thing to do for our patients, so we really make sure we can keep that program alive and thriving through events like this," Cota said.

By Joseph Ostapiuk

joseph.ostapiuk@newsday.com@OstapiukJ