During the same indoor 5000m race on January 27th in which Nike-sponsored Woody Kincaid set a new American record, CRR Sam Parsons put down a big initial marker in his 2023 campaign by smashing his previous best time by some nine seconds! Parsons ran a new personal best of 13:12.78 in the John Thomas Terrier Classic Men’s 5000 Run at Boston University’s indoor facility.
Running under Adidas sponsorship, Parsons finished in 7th place out of a whopping 81 finishers, a full 21 seconds behind Kincaid’s record setting 12:51.61. Kincaid’s was not the only national record set that night, as Parsons set a new German national record with his stellar performance! (CRR Christine Parsons is German, and her son has been competing for Germany internationally for several years.)
The BU venue wasn’t a world-class track in the late 1970s when CRR Bruce Weber ran on the previous flat asphalt 10-lap-to-the-mile track in what was then called the Commonwealth Armory.
Parsons’ dad, CRR George Parsons, is now looking forward to seeing his son compete at the Millrose Games on February 11th in the Armory in New York City. The meet will be broadcast on NBC and streamed on FloTrack and Apple TV.
CRR Bill Farquhar has been named the new Dean of the College of Health Sciences at the University of Delaware, effective on November 1. Farquhar follows in a growing line of Creek Road Runners who have assumed high-ranking positions within the academic leadership of the First State’s flagship educational institution. With Farquhar’s new position, two of UD’s colleges will be led by Creek Road Runners, the other being CRR Bruce Weber, current Dean of the Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics.
These two academic leaders are also fast. Both were regulars in the teams that Creek Road Runners fielded in recent years past in the Delaware 4-Person Marathon Relay, including its winning marathon relay team in 2018.
CRR Eric Jacobson insists that this is “more evidence that UD leadership considers CRR membership and 5K times when selecting deans and [other high-level administrative positions].”
Other UD leaders among Creek Road Runners have included CRR Charlie Riordan (former Vice President of Research, Scholarship and Innovation) and CRR Tom Apple (former Provost), both of whom were on the chemistry faculty.
“Bill Farquhar is the ideal person to build on the College of Health Sciences’ momentum and strong reputation as we develop new opportunities and innovations,” said UD president Dennis Assanis. ”A nationally respected researcher and scholar, he also brings a deep knowledge of our college and our University that will serve him well in this important role.”
From 2011-17, Farquhar served as chairperson of the College of Health Sciences’ Department of Kinesiology and Applied Physiology. A fellow of the National Academy of Kinesiology and fellow and vice president of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), he also served on the Board of Directors of the Federation of the American Societies for Experimental Biology and co-chaired ACSM’s World Congress on the Basic Science of Exercise and Vascular Health.
A genuine environmental advocate for Creek Road and its environs has received a recent public-service honor at the University of Delaware (UD).
CRR Jerry Kauffman was one of two individuals at UD to be honored with the 2021 Ratledge Family Award for Delaware Public Service.
Kauffman is the director of the UD Water Resources Center in the Institute for Public Administration at the Biden School. He also holds secondary faculty appointments in the Biden School and in the Department of Geography and Spatial Sciences.
A longtime Creek Road Runner, for years Kauffman has been a champion for protection of water quality and improvement of conditions for wildlife within area watersheds, including the White Clay Creek, along which Creek Road runs north from Newark.
Established by the Ratledge family, the Ratledge Family Award for Delaware Public Service reflects the family’s long-standing commitment to both the state of Delaware and UD. The award recognizes contributions of UD faculty, staff, and students who exemplify excellence in public service to the citizens of the state of Delaware.
Congratulations, Jerry, and thank you for your work.
In addition to being a pretty good all-around athlete, competitive within her age group, CRR Sue Barton recently received plaudits for her professional work as a University of Delaware horticulturist.
“Sue Barton’s role at the University of Delaware is the perfect embodiment of the University’s land-grant mission. She teaches. She conducts research. And she takes UD’s knowledge to the public.”
Of course, we also know Barton for her winning qualities as a competitive triathlete and a world age-group CrossFit champion in 2019!
Kudos to you, Sue, for making such an impact within your field.
The Delaware Mile Challenge was a unique event, to be sure, on the recently renovated track at The Tatnall School. On Saturday evening, April 9, runners of all ages took to the track to challenge the mile distance. Well after dark, the excitement had built to a crescendo, as the elite men and women took to the oval to compete.
A victorious Sam Parsons is all smiles after clocking the first sub-4 mile in Delaware.
“Homefield” advantage theoretically should have meant nothing, as among the field of 13 elite men there were four runners who had already broken the 4-minute-mile barrier at least once. One of those competitors, however, was CRR Sam Parsons (son of CRR George Parsons and CRR Christina Parsons), who grew up in Newark and ran track and cross country for Tatnall during his high school years.
It appeared early on in the men’s elite feature race that Parsons, who trains with Colorado-based Tinman Elite, was ready for the challenge. Through the initial lap, he was in good position in fourth. Moving up, he took over third during the second lap, staying close to a 60-seconds-per-lap pace while battling with three professional runners from Baltimore’s Under Armour club—two in front of him and one right behind him.
By the back stretch of the final lap, Parsons had moved up and positioned himself right behind the race leader, Casey Comber. With just a half lap to go, both were right around 3:30, setting up what would be a frenetic sprint finish.
With the volume increasing to a roar from the hundreds who lined the track to cheer him on, Parsons out-sprinted Comber on the final straightaway and, in doing so, eclipsed the 4-minute mark—the first time this had been done on Delaware soil. Parsons clocked in at 3:58.17; Comber finished just 0.27 seconds behind, also going sub-4. The previous best mile run in Delaware had been run 50 years ago, indoors, at 4:01.1.
Sam Parsons addresses the crowd after his historic win.
While not taking a victory lap, Parsons did take the mic to thank the crowd for helping to make The Delaware Mile Challenge such an energy-filled and memorable event. He also thanked his high school coach, Pat Castagno, who is Tatnall’s track-and-field and cross-country coach and whose own coach while at the University of Delaware was Delaware’s legendary CRR Jim Fischer, who presented the master’s mile race during the event.
By winning the elite race, Parsons bagged $2,500 in prize money. By breaking the 4-minute mark, he also walked (or maybe ran?) away with a $500 bonus, making it a very satisfying (and profitable) trip home!
The elite women’s winner, Molly Sughroue, of the Colorado Springs Track Club, ran away with the race, a new in-Delaware women’s record, and the same prize money.
Collectively, Creek Road Runners congratulate one of our own. Way to go, Sam!
Of local note is the fact that CRR Jim Bray, a Newark High School alum, once held the Delaware high school mile record for 28 years before it was broken in 1999.
The world record in the mile is still a mind-boggling 3:43.13, set by Morocco’s Hicham El Guerrouj in 1999.
CreekRoadRunners.org 