Riordan moving on, moving up

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photo of Charlie Riordan

As of July 1, 2022, CRR Charlie Riordan will assume his new position at Hofstra University, in Hempstead, N.Y., as Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs.

Riordan, UD’s Vice President of Research, Scholarship and Innovation, came to the University of Delaware faculty in 1997 and quickly came onto the Creek Road running scene. CRR Mark Deshon still remembers his introduction to Riordan back then while running on Creek Road. “I was curious about who this guy was in the basketball shirt running ahead of me, so I caught up and introduced myself [and him to Creek Road Runners], and we became friends and running companions.”

1999 photo of “Millennium Men”

In 1999, Riordan was one of five “Millennium Men” who ran the initial “Wring Out the Old, Ring in the New” trail run—Creek Road Runners’ annual holiday season run at Fair Hill Natural Resources Management Area.

photo of Bruce Weber

Dean of UD’s Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics and CRR Bruce Weber says of Riordan, whose primary role in recent years at UD has been administrative, “Charlie is one of the most principled colleagues with whom I’ve ever worked.” Weber added that Charlie has always had the best interest of the University in mind when it came to making critical decisions for the institution. That’s truly high praise from one of our fastest runners.

As a scientist, Riordan has been elected to both the Royal Society of Chemistry and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Though we’ll be sad to see him move out of the area, we hope Riordan will make it one of his first priorities to initiate a Creek Road Runners outpost on Long Island.

Congratulations, Charlie!

Annual trail run a success

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On December 31st, we renewed a yearly Creek Road Runners tradition that we had to pull the plug on in 2020. Sixteen participants and two dogs showed up to enjoy the unseasonably warm weather. We managed to get a decent group shot and keep a reasonable social distance.

> Check out the full story and more photos.

Wrapping up holiday racing

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There were a couple recent popular racing events, at which a few Creek Road Runners excelled.

photo of Bruce Weber

At the hugely attended Nov. 25 Thanksgiving Run for MS in Wilmington, there were two standouts from among our cohort. In the 5K, CRR Bruce Weber continued his dominance in the 60-64 age group with a win in 19:31, placing 17th overall out of 455 entrants.

photo of Doug Repetti

Not to be outdone by all the younger, faster guys, CRR Doug Repetti repeated again by running both the 10K and the 5K on Thanksgiving morning. Repetti took first among the 70-and-overs in the 10K in 54:12. He took second in that same age group in the 5K, finishing in 26:59—a lot of running for one morning, no matter how you look at it.

Special mention goes to 12-year-old Lincoln Narvaez, son of CRR Martha Narvaez, who not only won his 13-and-under age group but placed 25th overall out of 318 competitors in the 10K with a 44:59. Super time for this up-and-coming runner; good coaching, mom.

photo of Luke Nigro

In Newark’s annual Reindeer Run & Romp 5K, held on Dec. 3, CRR Luke Nigro finished 7th overall out of the 902 after-dark runners and won the 25-29 age group in a stellar 17:39. Well done, Luke.

CRRs shine in annual Turkey Trot

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In the second longest historical race in Delaware, four Creek Road Runners collected age group awards in Newark on Saturday, November 20, either in the 10K or the 5K…

photo of Doug Repetti

…or both in CRR Doug Repetti’s case! He did what we’ll call “the Repetti” by winning his age group in each of the two races. In the earlier 10K, he ran a 56:08, taking first in the over-70 division and finishing 54th out of 99 competitors. Then he ran the 5K in 27:19, winning the 70-74 age group.

photo of Bill Farquhar

While not winning his age group, the fastest Creek Road Runner on the day was CRR Bill Farquhar, who did manage to take a 2nd among the 50-54s, finishing 17th overall out of 409 5K finishers in a very solid 20:38. Farquhar doesn’t compete in many Newark races, so it was good to see him out there representing our crew.

CRR Diane Kukich won her 65-69 age group in the 5K with a time of 25:49. Despite winning her age group, Kukich merely took 3rd among her own family, as son Alex and daughter Christine, visiting from Baltimore, finished ahead of her. Then again, she’s several years their senior!

77-year-old running veteran CRR Doug Ridge also took home some 5K hardware, winning the 75-79 age group in 29:50.

Congratulations to all.

Note: Times mentioned were chip times (gun times unavailable).

Results from the Delaware Distance Classic

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On Sunday, Oct. 24, the Pike Creek Valley Running Club continued a long-standing tradition by putting on its signature 15K Delaware Distance Classic (DDC) event. Three Creek Road Runners ran in the 15K.

photo of Bill Rose

CRR Bill Rose finished the 9.3-mile course emanating from the Wilmington Riverfront in 1:07:14, coming in 42nd overall out of 141 runners and placing third among the 60-64 men, only a minute behind area standout and age-group peer Greg Cauller.

photo of Jim Bray running the 2021 Delaware Distance Classic

Taking second place among the 70-74s was 70-year-old CRR Doug Repetti, who completed the course in 1:22:06, placing 83rd overall.

In a rare local race appearance, triathlete CRR Bob Opila finished 95th in 1:26:00.

Pictured here sporting his circa 1990s CRR team shirt during the 5K DDC race is CRR Jim Bray, a former Delaware high school mile-record holder. He finished 29th overall and 2nd in the 60-69 age group in 31:43, demonstrating that he can still have some fun racing, even though he’s lost a little speed since high school (who hasn’t?).