Darkness had complete sway in this local 5K, which benefits Special Olympics of Delaware. However, there were three bright spots among our contingent in the race this year, which took place on Friday, Nov. 30.
CRR Kyle Chappell turned in the best time among three Creek Road Runners who placed in their respective age groups. He came in 37th overall and third in the 55-59 age group in 20:32. CRR Keith Crispin placed third among the 50-54s, finishing 70th overall, in 22:08.
CRR Diane Kukich, who is coming off some minor foot injuries, won the 65-69 age group in a very respectable 25:11.
In the 10K, CRR Christina Parsons won the 50-54 age group, finishing 40th overall out of 178 runners in 48:36. Parsons margin of victory in her age group was more than seven minutes! CRR Steve Tague, who finished 24th overall, ran a solid 44:37 and took second in the 55-59 age group.
In the 5K, the honors go to two 70-and-over seniors, who each won this ever-thinning division. CRR Doug Ridge won in 28:28, and CRR April Anderson won in 42:12 (no doubt walking much of it).
The fastest time among CRRs in the 5K belonged to CRR Doug Repetti, who ran a 27:05, taking second place among the 65-69s.
CRR Andrew Weber placed second overall, out of 206 finishers, in 19:26, easily winning his 30-39 age group.
59-year-old CRR Bill Rose was the first male masters finisher, placing 8th overall in 22:37.
CRR Natalie Rosenberg won the 30-39 age group, finishing 18th overall in 24:23.
In Newark’s inaugural Lederhosen Half Marathon last Saturday, 38-year-old CRR Andrew Weber blitzed the course that covered most of the city, having to follow only a motorcycle and/or cyclist marshal, in 1:22:22. The younger Weber (no relation) won the race outright among 352 finishers.
On the women’s side, CRR Julie Brewer was 90th out of 226 women finishers and the 30th masters woman out of 110, clocking in at 2:19:23.
CRR Dave Schultz traveled just north of New York City to run the Shawangunk Ridge Trail Half-Marathon—a grueling 13.1 miles over rugged mountain terrain. The race website bills it as “an adventurous trail with scrambles and squeezes.” Well, it about squeezed every bit of energy out of the 52-year-old Schultz, who didn’t expect it to be quite as menacing. Beginning in Minnewaska State Park and ending in Rosedale, N.Y., he completed the course in just over three hours (3:01:45), finishing 19th overall (13th male finisher) and winning the men’s 50-59 age group.
Right here in Wilmington, CRR Bruce Weber had a very different experience, as he won the inaugural Last Alarm 5K, during which he figures he only ran about 4.67K. Though he had a significant lead over the second-place runner, Weber followed the lead of the city policeman’s motorcycle, who was leading the way but made a 180-degree turnaround too early in the middle of the race. So much for course management. Weber clocked in at 17:42 but figures he would have been closer to 19 flat and would have won anyway had he actually run 5K.
CreekRoadRunners.org 