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.
Though the Philadelphia Flyers are out of the playoffs, there were still some Creek Road Runners who were definitely flying down Broad Street yesterday, taking no prisoners in the annual Broad Street Run Ten Miler in Philly.
CRR Bill Farquhar led the way with a stellar 59:45, finishing in 194th place in the field of about 50,000 runners and placing 3rd in the 50-54 age group! This sub-6:00/mile performance legitimized his tactic of saving energy last weekend during the 
In terms of professional accomplishments, University of Delaware professor and CRR Dan Weile has been named a 2018 Fellow of IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) for his work in the field of computational electromagnetics. He writes software to explain and simulate electromagnetic waves, which are patterns of interactions between charged particles.
In the ultra-windy Philly Marathon, CRR Andrew Weber clocked in at 3:27:39, placing 1,000th overall out of 7,761 participants.
An honorable mention goes to one of the newest of our crew, CRR Flora Poindexter, who completed her 26.2-mile journey in 6:09:01. This was her first marathon.
In the 11th Annual Main Street Mile race in Newark, two guys with the same last name, who are related only by their fleetness of foot, cracked the top 15 in this short race of 813 participants. CRR Andrew Weber posted the fastest time among Creek Road Runners, finishing 9th overall in a lightning-fast 5:08, good for 2nd in the 30-39 age group. CRR Bruce Weber wasn’t far behind, finishing 14th overall and taking 1st among the 50-59s in 5:32. In terms of age grading, the elder Weber’s time garnered a 90.2 grade, which is considered “world class” for his age group. The younger Weber’s 84.3 is considered “national class.” Both impressive, to say the least. An honorable mention, Newark’s Deputy Mayor CRR Andrew Haines turned in a 7:15.
New Jersey resident and one of the original Creek Road Runners, 57-year-old CRR Robert Hesketh, posted a 1:11:37, finishing 45th and taking only 7th place in a tough age group (55-59). CRR Doug Repetti, 66 years of age, was 70th in 1:17:46, and CRR Theresa Kauffman finished 113th in 1:25:52.
In the CASA 5K, CRR Bill Rose, running in his first 5K in a year’s time, finished 4th overall out of 38 runners in 19:59. The course was entirely on the University of Delaware central campus in Newark—three laps of The Green. Nothing like a long lap!
In a slightly longer race on Sunday, Dimitri “Dima” Kaliakin, youngest son of CRR Vic Kaliakin completed his first ultramarathon, the grueling Tussey Mountain 50-miler, just outside State College, Pa. The 20-year-old Washington College grad completed the up-and-down 50-mile distance in 6:45:34, finishing 5th overall and 4th among non-masters runners. This included a total elevation gain of 5,485 feet, 1,301 feet of which occurred during one 4.1-mile stretch (from the course’s lowest to highest point). Back in May, Dima placed 12th overall out of 326 finishers in the Delaware Marathon in 3:06:07. We shorter-distance Creek Road Runners salute you, Dima!