CRR tidbits, local and global

14 Sunday Jun 2026

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From Europe to the Pacific and in between, Creek Road Runners are showing up and still representing. Here are just some recent tidbits.

HALL OF FAMER

photo of Jim Bray with PCVRC rep
Jim Bray (left) received his HOF plaque during a spring track workout.

First of all, locally, CRR Jim Bray became the newest inductee of the Pike Creek Valley Running Club (PCVRC) Hall of Fame this spring. Bray has run on Creek Road for many years, most recently as a regular on the PCVRC’s Sunday morning runs. Bray joins previous inductees CRR Deborah Compton, CRR Jim Fischer, CRR Bob Taggart, and CRR Mark Deshon.

photo of HOF plaque

His biggest claim to fame is that, as a Newark High School alum, he had held the state scholastic mile record of 4:15.7 for 28 years—between 1972 and 1999. In a 2024 News Journal article, he was listed as No. 15 of “the 30 greatest high school distance runners in First State history.” Jim has also been inducted into the Delaware Track & Field Hall of Fame.

Congratulations!

REUNION IN SWITZERLAND

photo of Jim Fischer with Martin Wolfer and family
Jim Fischer (left) with Martin Wolfer and family in Zürich

It’s been nearly four decades since CRR Jim Fischer and CRR Martin Wolfer have been in the same part of the world. That changed recently, as Fischer and his wife Christine had a lunch date with Wolfer and his family in Zürich, Switzerland, about a 10K from Wolfer’s home.

Back in the late 1980s, when he was a post-doc at the University of Delaware, the Swiss-national Wolfer was a formidable racer who trained on Creek Road and at the UD track (in the early days of Fischer’s community track sessions). At that time, Wolfer held state-resident age-group records in the 5K and the marathon! Wolfer and Fischer were members of the Creek Road Runners team that finished second in the 1988 Caesar Rodney Half-Marathon’s team competition.

STILL HAWAI‘I STRONG?

photo of Tom Apple
A happy post-race Tom Apple

CRR Tom Apple, a former University of Delaware Provost who trained on Creek Road back in the 2000s, is still going strong at age 71. After leaving UD, Apple spent several years at the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa and is Professor Emeritus in Chemistry. Hawai‘i was good chemistry for him; he’s obviously in good shape. He recently finished as the winner of his age group in the Run for Woods 5K on Langhorne, Pa., and finishing 22nd overall in 25:42—besting many runners half his age.

Big five days for newest CRR

08 Friday May 2026

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photo of Laura Carlson

The middle of April turned out to be a whirlwind time for our newest Creek Road Runner and the first University of Delaware President among our connection of runners past and present—CRR Laura Carlson.

From the very beginning of her stint as Interim President at UD, Carlson had made a point of getting runners on campus involved by holding weekly early-morning 5K group runs. On April 16, however, the eve of her inauguration as President of the University of Delaware, she held a special 3 p.m. version, which was attended by nearly 100 runners. The field for this fun run, led by Carlson, included CRR Bill Farquhar, CRR Mark Deshon, CRR Tripp Shenton, CRR Jeff Chase, and CRR Artika Rangan Cassini. Leaving from Mentors’ Circle next to Hullihen Hall, which houses Carlson’s office, the run headed south to UD’s outdoor track for a lap around the track and back.

The following day was a gala celebration on campus, as Carlson shed the “Interim” title and officially became President. For her, that pre-inaugural 5K was just a leg loosener, as she was due to run the Boston Marathon the following Monday morning.

Carlson is no stranger to the Boston Marathon, having grown up in the Boston area. She completed her 15th Boston, the 130th edition of the storied marathon, on Monday, April 20, clocking in at 3:51:10 (3:48:04 chip). As one of more than 30,000 competitors, she placed 19,339th overall, 7415th among all females, and 119th in her age division. Pretty impressive.

In relation to her position at UD, here’s what Rangan Cassini said about Carlson in the recent issue of University of Delaware Magazine. “Carlson’s approach is steady. Like a seasoned marathon runner who knows that the journey of 26.2 miles begins with a single step, she leads with skills gleaned on the course: preparation, consistency, purpose and an uncanny ability to listen…. Now as president, she’s zeroed in on one question: How do we position ourselves for success 10 years from now? It’s the kind of endurance Carlson knows well.”

Welcome to the group, President Carlson.

Three generations compete in the DMR at Penn

21 Tuesday Apr 2026

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Three generations of the Ridge family, including two Creek Road Runners—81-year-old CRR Doug Ridge and his 46-year-old son, CRR Clark Ridge—participated in the Philadelphia Runner Track Club Indoor Classic: All-Comers Meet, which was held Saturday, March 7, 2026, at the Ott Center—the University of Pennsylvania’s new indoor track facility.

photo of “Team Ridge”
Team Ridge—Doug, Violet, Calvin, and Clark

The two CRRs were joined by the elder Ridge’s 16-year-old granddaughter, Violet (who was recovering from bronchitis), and 14-year-old grandson, Calvin. The four entered the distance medley relay (DMR) as “Team Ridge.”

Calvin did the 800m leg after having already run a ten-second personal best (4:47) in winning his mile heat. His dad, Clark, was participating in the DMR after having run 3km (9:56, 3rd Masters) and mile (5:16) races.

Going into the DMR, Doug’s goal was to match his high school 880-yd. time (1:57) for his 400m leg, roughly half the distance but at five times his high school age. He accomplished this by a matter of seconds.

Violet opened with the 1200m leg in 4:35, then passed the baton to grandfather Doug for the 400m, which he covered in 1:54. In turn, he passed the baton to grandson Calvin for a 2:17 800m, who then passed the baton to his dad, Clark, who finished with a 5:17 1600m anchor leg for a total time of 14:04—just four seconds off their aimed-for target.

Team Ridge placed 18th of out of 24 teams. They believe they would have won among three-generation family teams or among teams spanning 67 years of age and including at least one female.

Although Clark Ridge and his family live in College Park, Md., they are in Newark frequently and take every opportunity to continue the long family tradition of running along White Clay Creek on Creek Road. Doug still routinely runs Creek Road several days a week.

Certainly, one can conclude that, beside the baton, this family has also passed to one another the “speed” gene.

Memorial bench now adorns Creek Road

16 Thursday Apr 2026

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A bench in memory of CRR Bruce Hubbard was recently installed along Creek Road. Runners, walkers, and bikers were likely to encounter him on Creek Road during his lifetime. And if you saw him, you were likely to chat, since he was always happy to do so. Bruce completed 30 marathons and countless other races. He passed away on February 1, 2026, a few days short of his 80th birthday. 

photo of bench in memory of Bruce Hubbard
Bench in memory of Bruce Hubbard

The bench is near the crest of a small hill, about 1/4-mile north of the vehicle-barrier posts on Creek Road, which are just north of the Pomeroy Trail footbridge across the creek. It faces the sunrise, with a beautiful view across the creek. It is a wonderful tribute to this Newark resident and lifetime Creek Road Runner.

Special thanks to CRR Bill Rose for this post and for the photo of the bench.

Seashore Running Festival standouts

15 Wednesday Apr 2026

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This past weekend, Rehoboth Beach, Del., was the site of the Delaware Seashore Running Festival, comprising four races—a 5K, 9K, half-marathon, and marathon. A couple Creek Road Runners—Diane Kukich and Joe Dombroski—had notable performances.

CRR Diane Kukich ran the 5K on Saturday and the 9K on Sunday, winning her age group (70-74) in each race. In the 5K, she placed 35th among female masters runners and 87th among all female competitors in a time of 28:37 (28:55 gun). She was the 235th finisher oveall out of 874 competitors. In the next day’s 9K, Kukich was the 58th female finisher and 16th among the female masters in 53:00 (53:22 gun). She finished 152nd overall out of 678 racers.

photo of Joe Dombroski

At age 66, CRR Joe Dombroski ran his very first half marathon, completing the 13.1-mile distance in 2:22:15 (2:27:40 gun) and placing 9th in his age group (65-69). He was the 429th finisher among the 1,437 who completed the race.

Well done, both of you.