From flat road 5Ks to grueling trail marathons, the Creek Road Runners have been active at the end of the summer.

This past Saturday CRR Dan Simmons won his age group (65-69) at the 37th Annual Bottle & Cork Ten Miler in Dewey Beach with a 1:13:23, placing 55th overall out of 359 runners. Simmons recently completed the popular Annapolis Ten Mile Run in 1:14:34.  In doing so, he placed 2nd out of 34 in his age group and 240th out of the more than 3,400 runners at that race.

CRR Tripp Shenton also ran the Bottle & Cork Ten Miler, coming in with a time of 1:16:51, good for 64th overall.

This past Sunday, CRR Cole Galloway ran Stumpy’s Marathon, a difficult trail marathon in the nearby Fair Hill Natural Resources Management Area, organized by the Trail Dawgs. Galloway ran with his son, Nathan, and managed a 6:05 finish. A long time to be out on the trail on a warm day, but he said there were, “lots of food, friendly smiles, and encouragement at each pitstop.” He added, “Overall even more wonderful given that this is and has always been a free event.”

CRR Mark Deshon (50-59) and CRR Bob Taggart (70+) each won their respective age groups at the Cindy Foundation for Ovarian Cancer Research 5K on the Riverfront in Wilmington.  Deshon’s time was 20:32 and Taggart’s 24:47 for the flat course.

Wait, there’s more!

CRR Jay Coughenour qualified for the Boston Marathon with an insanely good 3:02:12 at the Lehigh Valley “VIA” Marathon, held last Saturday. Congratulations! At the same venue, CRR Keith Crispin ran the half-marathon in 1:29:04—a super time. There weren’t many spectators along the way. In fact, of the course, Coughenour said, “It was like running Creek Road for 26.2 miles.”

On the distaff side, CRR Theresa Kauffman won her age group in the Charm City 20-Mile NCR Trail Race in Hunt Valley, Md., on September 1 and last Saturday won her age group in the Diamondman Sprint Duathlon (biking and running) at Lums Pond in 1:48:43. Well done!

Nine Creek Road Runners successfully completed the inaugural Top of Delaware™ Triathlon yesterday at the Newark Reservoir.  The course featured a triangular quarter-mile swim course in the reservoir, a tough 11.4-mile bike loop on Newark-area roads, and a uniquely challenging 2.6-mile run that started at the foot of the reservoir, included portions of the reservoir and William Redd Park trails, and came back down to the foot of the reservoir before finishing with a nasty 50-yard incline straight up the steep side of the reservoir.

CRR Dan Simmons (65-69) and CRR Jennifer Pyle (55-59) took the spotlight, as each won his/her age division, Simmons finishing in 1:22:57 and Pyle in 1:26:49.  Simmons, who is experienced in duathlons, hasn’t had experience as a competitive swimmer, so he was very glad to get that portion of the competition behind him.

CRR Rich Braun took second place among the 50-54s in a time of 1:21:02, finishing 99th overall out of the 317 finishers and tops among the Creek Road Runners.  Braun has recently come back into shape after having suffered a nasty biking accident.  When asked how the swim went, he said, “I couldn’t see much, and the water didn’t taste good.”

Other finishers included CRR Theresa Kauffman (50-54; 1:21:18), CRR Ryan German (35-39: 1:22:20), CRR John Sarmousakis (50-54; 1:24:41), CRR Mary Braun (50-54; 1:30:40), CRR Becky George (50-54; 1:32:11), and CRR Bruce Hubbard (65-69; 1:37:50).

It looks like the Top of Delaware™ Triathlon will become an annual event on the triathlon circuit.  It also seems like all the participants had fun and welcomed the challenge….  At least that’s what the impression was after it was all over!