The annual Broad Street Run ten-miler in Philadelphia saw two of our older members participate and run well. CRR Dan Simmons finished the one-way trip down Broad Street in 1:15:22 officially (1:14:29 chip time), good for 14th among his 60-64 peers. Delaware record-holder CRR Deborah Compton finished 4th in the same age division with a 1:25:58. Dan and Deborah keep putting in the miles. Congratulations to them.

CRR Bob Bennett claimed the honor of the top 70+ runner in the recent Triple Crown Races 5K, held on April 30 at White Clay Creek State Park. His time was 31:12 for the difficult cross-country course laid out by Trail Dawg and CRR John Mackenzie. Bob finished 40th overall out of 146 finishers, proving he’s still at it.

Three Creek Road Runners shone particularly brightly during the 49th running of the Caesar Rodney Half Marathon on Sunday.

CRR Natalie Rosenberg and CRR Holly Scott each took second place in their respective age group. Rosenberg ran a stellar 1:29:22 and missed winning the 19-24 age group outright by 10 seconds. She finished 106th overall. Scott, our Dover Creek Road Runner, ran a very good 1:42:01, placing her second among the 50-54s.

CRR Jay Coughenour was the top Creek Road Runner on the day with a 1:19:02, giving him a third-place finish in the 45-49 age group and 20th overall.

This was a great showing for these three, especially considering the fact that this race attracts so many quality runners from Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Congratulations to all other Creek Road Runners who ran the race. It’s quite an accomplishment.  See complete race results.

The fastest Creek Road Runner you’ll likely see out there these days is CRR Jay Coughenour.  The 46-year-old recently placed 3rd in his age group on March 17th at the Adrenaline 5K in Haddonfield, N.J., a big regional race that draws many of the best runners from the greater Philadelphia area.

Jay’s time was 17:19 (5:35 per mile and age-graded at a national-level 82.52), placing him 56th out of the field of 922 finishers.  The fact that there were 55 other runners who finished ahead of him is testament to the caliber of the field.  Thirty-four-year-old Newark–area runner Mike DiGennaro, a protegé of CRR Jim Fischer (see today’s other post) and St. Mark’s High School XC and Track & Field coach, finished 3rd overall in 15:11.

CRR Dan Simmons, who has been winning his 60-64 age group routinely in smaller races, placed a respectable 6th (284th overall) in 22:11.

At the 29th annual JCC Snowball Five Miler on March 4 in Wilmington, CRR Dan Simmons (left) and CRR Bill Rose (right) each took home an age-group place. Bill finished third among 50-59s in 34:40, good for 27th overall, while Dan took second in the 60-69s with a 37:05, placing 45th overall. There were 264 finishers. Good job, guys!

Whose idea was it to have a cross-country 5K in mid-February?

Actually, three local running clubs came together to race in what the soccer world would call a “friendly.” Fortunately, the weather cooperated on Sunday, Feb. 19, and the White Clay Creek State Park XC course wasn’t too muddy (couldn’t have been better at this time of year, to be truthful). Four Creek Road runners challenged themselves on the course. The unique scoring system (by age-grading*) favored most of the old-timers; however, this meant that an 8-year-old boy won the race by virtue of having the top age grade of any of the more than 60 area runners!

CRR Mark Deshon gutting out the last few yards (photo by Kim Riccio)

CRR Keith Crispin, who ran for the Middletown Athletic Club, ran a 19:52 (finishing in 20th place), which was good for a score of 71.3 (26th overall). CRR Jay Coughenour, who ran for the Pike Creek Valley Running Club (PCVRC) after having done a ten-mile training run earlier in the morning, jogged through a 20:08 (finishing 22nd), which rated a score of 71.0 (28th overall). CRR Mark Deshon (pictured here and showing all the strain of XC racing), also ran for PCVRC and ran a 22:00 (finishing 39th), moving him up several places to 31st overall by virtue of a 70.0 score.  CRR Dan Simmons, running for PCVRC, got the most benefit out of the scoring system, having run a 25:35 (finishing 51st) but placing 41st with a 65.0 score.  Age does have its privileges.

*Age grading is a way of putting all race participants on a level playing field, regardless of age or gender. Age-graded scores let you compare your race times to those of different runners, as well as to the standard for your age and gender.  See an age-grading calculator.