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.
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.
CRR Dave Barlow and CRR Bill Rose were feted last night during a ceremony at the STAR Tower atrium on the University of Delaware (UD) campus. The two retired professors were honored by having a new UD center named for them—the Barlow-Rose Center for Anatomy and Physiology Education.
Bill Farquhar talking about the honorees
Among the attendees and UD dignitaries were about a dozen Creek Road Runners, who came to help honor Barlow and Rose.
The event’s emcee was CRR Dave Edwards, who introduced UD interim provost CRR Bill Farquhar. Farquhar, one of Rose’s running partners when Rose was teaching at UD, presented a brief synopsis of the impact that Barlow and Rose’s teaching have had in the academic areas for which the center has been named. During their careers (Barlow’s having spanned 50 years!), each honoree at one time had been named as UD’s prestigious Teacher of the Year awardee.
Bill Rose and David Barlow
Rose and Barlow then spoke in turn, talking about the honor, what it meant to them, and how important the education of students in the field of anatomy and physiology had been to them in their respective careers at UD. Barlow stressed that the importance that UD has placed on this field of research and education has placed it “on the map” with respect to other institutions nationwide.
Congratulations to both of you for this well-deserved honor!
Salesianum School and University of Delaware standout and longtime award-winning Tatnall School track and cross-country coach Pat Castagno will be among ten inductees into the Delaware Sports Hall of Fame (HOF) this spring. An excerpt from the HOF announcement follows:
For 25 years, Patrick Castagno has coached Tatnall School track and field and cross-country teams to statewide dominance and national prominence.
Castagno joined the Tatnall faculty in 2001 and reinvigorated the cross country and track programs. Since then, the Hornets have won 62 state championships, with 273 individual and relay titles. Eight Hornets teams and five individual runners have qualified for the Nike Cross Country Nationals.
Castagno has been named U.S. Track and Field Coaches Association Coach of the Year five times and Delaware Coach of the Year 15 times.
Nearly 80 of his athletes have competed at the college level, including an NCAA champion and [fellow HOF] inductee, Juliet Bottorff.
One of Castagno’s former Tatnall great runners, CRR Sam Parsons, who also had a successful runner career both in college at North Carolina State and then on the pro circuit, went on to become Delaware’s first sub-four miler and the first person to break the four-minute-mile barrier on Delaware soil.
A successful college runner himself, Castagno was coached at the University of Delaware by another Delaware Sports Hall of Famer, CRR Jim Fischer.
Creek Road Runners were saddened to hear of the death of CRR Bruce Hubbard on February 1, just nine days shy of his 80th birthday. “Many of you knew him, and he was a strong member of the running community,” noted CRR Jim Fischer. Like Fischer, Hubbard was a Minnesota native. He was a member of the Pike Creek Valley Running Club and was also a big proponent of Creek Road Runners.
CRR Mark Deshon asserted, “He loved our Creek Road Runners shirts, and he nearly always ran the annual ‘Wring Out the Old, Ring in the New’ 7.5K cross-country run at the Fair Hill Resource Management Area every New Year’s Eve morning. In fact, last year was the first year in memory that he didn’t show up for the run.”
Deshon was not surprised, because Hubbard had come to the 2024 event barely able to walk, let alone run. He had had so many health issues on top of the many running-related injuries he had suffered over his running lifetime. Yet, he was always very positive and hopeful that he could press on and do the next race, whatever that may have been.
A veteran of over a thousand races, Hubbard was always planning and training for his next big race. CRR Eric Jacobson commented, “His old car deserves a place in the CRR Hall of Fame. As he was driving down Creek Road, he’d frequently stop or slow down to share a quick story about his latest running adventures.”
Bruce Hubbard in the 2006 Delaware Open XC Championships 5K
It was nearly 20 years ago that he won the Delaware Open XC Championships 60-and-over age group, an impressive feat. Over the course of his life, he completed 30 marathons, a half-Ironman, and four eight-hour survival races.
Besides running and racing, Hubbard loved golf, skiing, and ice skating. He was an excellent skater, even in his 50s performing as a member of the Delaware Dazzles synchronized skating team.
He is survived by his ex-wife of 51 years CRR April Anderson and his adult children, Reid and Sally.
Creek Road Runners (plus one) salute the new year 2026. From left are CRR Mark Deshon (a Roman numeral “two”), CRR Bob Opila (the zero), CRR Bill Rose (another Roman numeral “two”), and Greg Cauller (the six).
CreekRoadRunners.org 