Sam Parsons, son of CRR Christina Parsons and CRR George Parsons, achieved a personal milestone recently and became the first Delawarean to run a sub-four-minute mile. In fact, he was so juiced that he did it twice in one week in major races.
The following is an excerpt from the official race website of the annual New York Road Runners Fifth Avenue Mile, contested on September 9, 2018.
In the men’s race, Sam Parsons bolted to an immediate 5-meter lead, his mind clearly on the halfway leader’s bonus. He hit the first quarter in 57 seconds, while the pack, led by Johnny Gregorek, came through in about 59. Defending champion Nick Willis of New Zealand, seeking his fifth title in this event, was in the center of the chase group, patiently waiting for the real racing to begin.
Parsons reached the half mile in 2:00 with a 10-meter cushion on the field, but that gap quickly disintegrated. Just past three-quarters of a mile (3:00), the pack swallowed up the leader, with Chris O’Hare of Scotland making a bold surge to the front from the far right-hand side of the course. [Scotland’s Jake] Wightman, Willis and Neil Gourley, yet another Scot, covered the move best.
Wightman seized the lead in the final 200 meters, and held off Willis for the win, 3:53.5 to 3:54.2. Gourley (3:55.3) took third, with American Eric Avila (3:55.5) and Aussie Sam McEntee (3:56.0) rounding out the top 5. Parsons was only 14th (3:57.7) but scored his early-leader payday [$1,000] by meeting the sub-4:00 finish requirement. Olympic 1500 gold medalist Matthew Centrowitz didn’t factor in the final sprint and placed 16th in 4:00.2.
Just four days earlier, Parsons had broken the 4-minute barrier for his first time, finishing in 3:59.7 and placing 10th in the Hoka One One Long Island Mile. He runs professionally for Tinman Elite out of Boulder, Colo., and is sponsored by Adidas.
A Newark, Del., native and 3200m state record holder, Parsons ran locally while at The Tatnall School and then went on to log a stellar collegiate career at North Carolina State. In June, he competed in the USA Track & Field Championships in the 5000m final, where he actually led the race with 800 meters to go.
Mom and Dad need to help him work on his finishing kick (just kidding).
In the Beau Biden Foundation 10K cross-country race, there were two standouts. CRR Bill Rose finished 16th overall out of 231 finishers in 50:56. This was good enough to win the 50-59 age group. CRR Theresa Cannon took a third in the same age group, finishing in 1:06:58. Ms. Cannon, who has run the Boston Marathon 13 times, was recently inducted into the Pike Creek Valley Running Club’s Hall of Fame.
In the Beau Biden 5K, CRR Andrew Weber finished 2nd overall our of 333 runners, winning his age group (30-39) in 20:49.
In Newark’s Get Lucky 5K, it was CRR Andrew Weber who finished 5th overall out of 155 runners and took 2nd among the 30-39s in 18:29. CRR Diane Kukich finished 29th overall, winning the 60-69 age group in 24:48. This time age graded to a 80.9, the highest such score of any of the participants.
At the recent USA Track & Field Mid-Atlantic Region awards luncheon, CRR Bill Farquhar was honored for finishing tied for 3rd place in his age group (45-49) in the 2017 Grand Prix Road Series of races and finished 3rd in the 2017 Off-Road (i.e., cross country) Series. CRR Keith Crispin finished 3rd in the 50-54 age group in the Grand Prix Road Series. Both are members of the 
In terms of professional accomplishments, University of Delaware professor and CRR Dan Weile has been named a 2018 Fellow of IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) for his work in the field of computational electromagnetics. He writes software to explain and simulate electromagnetic waves, which are patterns of interactions between charged particles.
In the 11th Annual Main Street Mile race in Newark, two guys with the same last name, who are related only by their fleetness of foot, cracked the top 15 in this short race of 813 participants. CRR Andrew Weber posted the fastest time among Creek Road Runners, finishing 9th overall in a lightning-fast 5:08, good for 2nd in the 30-39 age group. CRR Bruce Weber wasn’t far behind, finishing 14th overall and taking 1st among the 50-59s in 5:32. In terms of age grading, the elder Weber’s time garnered a 90.2 grade, which is considered “world class” for his age group. The younger Weber’s 84.3 is considered “national class.” Both impressive, to say the least. An honorable mention, Newark’s Deputy Mayor CRR Andrew Haines turned in a 7:15.
New Jersey resident and one of the original Creek Road Runners, 57-year-old CRR Robert Hesketh, posted a 1:11:37, finishing 45th and taking only 7th place in a tough age group (55-59). CRR Doug Repetti, 66 years of age, was 70th in 1:17:46, and CRR Theresa Kauffman finished 113th in 1:25:52.
In a slightly longer race on Sunday, Dimitri “Dima” Kaliakin, youngest son of CRR Vic Kaliakin completed his first ultramarathon, the grueling Tussey Mountain 50-miler, just outside State College, Pa. The 20-year-old Washington College grad completed the up-and-down 50-mile distance in 6:45:34, finishing 5th overall and 4th among non-masters runners. This included a total elevation gain of 5,485 feet, 1,301 feet of which occurred during one 4.1-mile stretch (from the course’s lowest to highest point). Back in May, Dima placed 12th overall out of 326 finishers in the Delaware Marathon in 3:06:07. We shorter-distance Creek Road Runners salute you, Dima!
CreekRoadRunners.org 