Tags
4-person relay, 5K, brett, chappell, crispin, Delaware Marathon, diiorio, dombroski, farquhar, half marathon, kaliakin, kukich, Marathon Relay, rose, shenton, weber, weile
This weekend saw the Creek Road Runners perform at their collective best during the Delaware Marathon Running Festival.
When one race just isn’t good enough (or apparently long enough), CRR Diane Kukich doubles up. She ran and won the 65-69 age group in the 5K on Saturday evening in 24:47 and then celebrated Mother’s Day by winning the same age group in the Half Marathon in 2:10:21. No doubt her daughter Christine, who also ran both races, was her inspiration, …or is it the other way around?
Local standout and 37-year-old CRR Andrew Weber placed 2nd overall out of 821 finishers in the Half Marathon, with a stellar time of 1:21:27. Wow! CRR Dan Weile cracked the top 20 himself in the Half, running a 1:33:49 and taking 3rd in the 40-44 age group.
Just having come off a 3:51:28 finish at the Boston Marathon, CRR Tripp Shenton placed 58th overall in the Half Marathon with a 1:40:18, giving him a 2nd place finish among the 55-59s.
Of particular note was Dimitri Kaliakin (son of CRR Vic Kaliakin), who placed 12th overall out of 328 finishers in the Marathon with a wonderful 3:06:07, a pace of approximately 7:05 per mile for the 26.2-mile distance. Kaliakin placed 2nd in the 20-24 age group.
CRRs Rose, Farquhar, Weber, and Crispin
In the event where Creek Road Runners have historically shone brightly—the Marathon Relay, two CRR teams placed in the top 10 out of the 92 teams that competed.
The “Creek Road Runners” team smashed its own team record, set last year, by nearly 5 minutes, finishing 3rd overall in 2:48:26, and (by virtue of the winning team being a masters team as well) took top prize in the masters category!
CRR Bill Rose ran a 44:06 in the first of four 6.55-mile legs. CRR Bruce Weber, despite having encountered some calf cramping and having to walk a bit, finished leg two in a quick 41:16. CRR Keith Crispin, who a week ago ran a 1:04:33 at the Broad Street Ten Miler, finished leg three in 43:08. The fastest and youngest (turns 50 this fall) of the team, CRR Bill Farquhar, who ran 59:54 at Broad Street, sizzled in the final leg with a 39:56!
CRRs Dombroski, Chappell, Brett, and DiIorio
The Creek Road Runners “B” team (a.k.a. “Team UMS”) of CRR Kyle Chappell (46:11), CRR Joe Dombroski (55:23), CRR Bob DiIorio (57:24), and CRR Andrew Brett (47:57) finished in 9th place overall, clocking a combined time of 3:26:55.
Well done, everyone!
In Wilmington, the bigger races were taking place. In the PNC Bank 5K, CRR Bruce Weber took first place among the 55-59s in a fast 18:55. CRR Ann Jornlin placed 2nd in the 60-64s with a 25:48. In the 10K, CRR Doug Repetti got on the podium for a 3rd place finish among the 65-69s, finishing in 52:34.
On Saturday at the Delaware Open XC Championships, in a grueling 5K, CRR Bill Farquhar placed 8th overall in the Men’s Masters race and 5th in his age group (40-49) in a brilliant 19:28—super fast for that course! CRR Keith Crispin placed 14th overall and 9th in the same age group with a very good 20:39. Earlier this year both runners helped the CRR team break three hours in the 
Other award winners in the 10K included CRR Doug Repetti, who won his age group (65-69) in 53:20, and CRR Teresa Kauffman, who placed 2nd in her age group (50-54) in 53:58.
Coming off heart surgery early this year, CRR Bob Taggart won his age group (75-79) in the 5K in 30:03. A 5K footnote—had CRR Mark Deshon actually registered for the race (he only did three of the 3.1 miles), he would have won his age group (60-64) by about three minutes.
On Sunday, October 30, at Caffé Gelato’s Waffle Cone Ten Miler on Creek Road, five runners took age group awards. CRR Bruce Weber finished 9th overall among the 344 participants and placed 1st in his age group (55-59) with a 1:05:59 (that’s 6:06 per mile!). Finishing 15th overall, CRR Bill Rose placed 2nd in the 55-59s in 1:09:06. Three others captured age-group 3rd place finishes: CRR Dan Weile (40-44) in 1:13:34, CRR David Coker (45-49) in 1:17:01, and CRR Bob Opila (60-64) in 1:38:24.
At the Newark Country Club on Saturday, November 5, CRR Andrew Weber won the Rock & Roll 5K outright in a nasty fast 17:43. Three other CRRs notched age-group wins: CRR Dave Schultz (50-59) covered the course in 24:03, 
