Author Archives: deshon

Like mother, like daughter

16 Tuesday Apr 2024

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photo of Diane and Christine Kukich

In the 70-74 age group, CRR Diane Kukich is still training daily and racing occasionally…and nearly always winning. Her racing muse is her daughter, Christine, a Baltimore resident who has taken up running and racing pretty seriously over the past decade. 

They register for and compete in races together, which, though they each run at their own pace, gives them good mother-daughter time. This is especially true when they both bring home hardware, which, depending on the race, is becoming more commonplace.

Last weekend, the Kukich women competed in the Coastal Delaware Running Festival. 

The elder ran in the Cape Challenge, which included a 5K in Dewey Beach on Saturday and a 9K in Rehoboth Beach on Sunday. She won the 70-74 age group in both events with times of 26:43 and 50:12, respectively.

Christine did the Fort Miles Challenge, which included the 5K on Saturday plus a half-marathon on Sunday. Not to go home empty-handed, she placed second among her 30-34 age-group peers in the 5K in 22:50 and fourth in the half (missing third place by one second) in 1:44:08.

> about Diane’s amazing training streak (ongoing since Christine was born)

On the Olympic Matt

02 Tuesday Apr 2024

Posted by in Kudos, Stories

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Matt Robinson (right) is congratulated by IOC President Thomas Bach

A year ago this month, CRR Matt Robinson, “self-appointed CEO” of the Creek Road Runners, graduated from the International Coaching Enrichment Certificate Program. In the photo above, he is being congratulated by International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach.

Robinson heads the University of Delaware’s Community Engagement Initiative, but he has spent the last 20 years doing sport development work funded by the U.S. Department of State, the IOC, and the U.S. Olympic Committee. He has collaborated with the NBA, FIFA, U.S. Soccer, and the Olympic committees of multiple countries. 

Robinson leads the International Coaching Enrichment Certificate Program (ICECP), which has trained more than 400 coaches from 120 countries in 25 sports. He is a sought-after speaker on the topic of sport diplomacy, athlete and sport development, and developing legacy plans for cities and countries that host major international sporting events.

Plus, Robinson has always been a staunch supporter of running, and particularly the Creek Road Runners. Congratulations to our “CEO.”

Photo courtesy of the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee

Run, Train, Race

05 Monday Feb 2024

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Jim Fischer’s book Run, Train, Race
photo of Jim Fischer trackside
Coach Fischer at a UD track meet in 2011

Minnesota native and Delaware Sports Hall of Famer CRR Jim Fischer has just published a book called Run, Train, Race. Based on his 50 years of running, teaching, and coaching, in his book Fischer offers practical distance-running advice for runners at all levels.

Locally, Fischer has been conducting training sessions on the track at the University of Delaware and more recently at local high schools for more than 30 years. Anyone can take advantage of this type of coaching. And, indeed, over the years several Creek Road Runners have done so and benefitted from his expertise.

Fischer is a Level III certified coach in endurance and has taught Level I and Level II certification classes across the U.S. He served on the NCAA Men’s Cross Country Coaches Association’s Executive Board, presented at the Seoul Olympic Scientific Congress, and conducted coaching and training clinics in China, Egypt, Honduras, and Yemen. He was an assistant coach for the “East Team” at the 1991 U.S. Olympic Sports Festival in Los Angeles.

> Purchase the book online

Two successfully complete Philadelphia Marathon

08 Monday Jan 2024

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During the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, two Creek Road Runners competed in and finished the Philadelphia Marathon. Held on Nov. 24, the marathon was the feature event of the Philadelphia Marathon Weekend of races, which boasted more than 35,000 participants.

photo of Andrew Weber

First and foremost, 44-year-old CRR Andrew Weber, who had run this race and other local marathons in previous years, broke the three-hour mark for the first time and, in doing so, set a new personal best by more than seven minutes, finishing in 2:54:41. His previous best was a 3:02:13 at Philly in 2014. Weber placed 407th overall.

photo of Tripp Shenton

A veteran of many marathons over the years, 63-year-old CRR Tripp Shenton came in well under four hours with a finishing time of 3:44:53. He placed 3,442nd overall.

Interestingly enough, both Weber and Shenton placed 29th in their respective five-year age group. Congratulations to you both!

24th annual trail run draws 5 CRRs plus 6 others

02 Tuesday Jan 2024

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The 24th annual Wring Out the Old, Ring In The New trail event included a combination of 11 runners and walkers who came together to bid farewell to 2023 and help usher in the new year at the Fair Hill Natural Resources Management Area in nearby Maryland.

photo of group of four Creek Road Runners
Four Creek Road Runners showed to salute the year 2024. From left are Bob Opila (the two), Bill Rose (the zero), David James (the other two), and Bruce Hubbard (the four).

> See full write-up