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~ Newark, Delaware

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Tag Archives: Delaware

Parsons conquers Mile Challenge

10 Sunday Apr 2022

Posted by deshon in Kudos, News, Race Results, Stories

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bray, Delaware, fischer, mile, parsons, state record, Tinman Elite, track and field

The Delaware Mile Challenge was a unique event, to be sure, on the recently renovated track at The Tatnall School. On Saturday evening, April 9, runners of all ages took to the track to challenge the mile distance. Well after dark, the excitement had built to a crescendo, as the elite men and women took to the oval to compete.

photo of a victorious Sam Parsons
A victorious Sam Parsons is all smiles after clocking the first sub-4 mile in Delaware.

“Homefield” advantage theoretically should have meant nothing, as among the field of 13 elite men there were four runners who had already broken the 4-minute-mile barrier at least once. One of those competitors, however, was CRR Sam Parsons (son of CRR George Parsons and CRR Christina Parsons), who grew up in Newark and ran track and cross country for Tatnall during his high school years.

It appeared early on in the men’s elite feature race that Parsons, who trains with Colorado-based Tinman Elite, was ready for the challenge. Through the initial lap, he was in good position in fourth. Moving up, he took over third during the second lap, staying close to a 60-seconds-per-lap pace while battling with three professional runners from Baltimore’s Under Armour club—two in front of him and one right behind him.

By the back stretch of the final lap, Parsons had moved up and positioned himself right behind the race leader, Casey Comber. With just a half lap to go, both were right around 3:30, setting up what would be a frenetic sprint finish.

With the volume increasing to a roar from the hundreds who lined the track to cheer him on, Parsons out-sprinted Comber on the final straightaway and, in doing so, eclipsed the 4-minute mark—the first time this had been done on Delaware soil. Parsons clocked in at 3:58.17; Comber finished just 0.27 seconds behind, also going sub-4. The previous best mile run in Delaware had been run 50 years ago, indoors, at 4:01.1.

photo of Sam Parson addressing the crowd
Sam Parsons addresses the crowd after his historic win.

While not taking a victory lap, Parsons did take the mic to thank the crowd for helping to make The Delaware Mile Challenge such an energy-filled and memorable event. He also thanked his high school coach, Pat Castagno, who is Tatnall’s track-and-field and cross-country coach and whose own coach while at the University of Delaware was Delaware’s legendary CRR Jim Fischer, who presented the master’s mile race during the event.

By winning the elite race, Parsons bagged $2,500 in prize money. By breaking the 4-minute mark, he also walked (or maybe ran?) away with a $500 bonus, making it a very satisfying (and profitable) trip home!

The elite women’s winner, Molly Sughroue, of the Colorado Springs Track Club, ran away with the race, a new in-Delaware women’s record, and the same prize money.

Collectively, Creek Road Runners congratulate one of our own. Way to go, Sam!

Of local note is the fact that CRR Jim Bray, a Newark High School alum, once held the Delaware high school mile record for 28 years before it was broken in 1999.

The world record in the mile is still a mind-boggling 3:43.13, set by Morocco’s Hicham El Guerrouj in 1999.

It’s about time

27 Thursday Dec 2018

Posted by deshon in Kudos, News

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cottrell, Delaware, deshon, fischer, hall of fame, taggart, track and field, wolfer

photo of Jim Fischer tracksideOn the track, it’s about time—typically all about time. But this is not so true when it comes to CRR Jim Fischer, who has put more time (and love) into the sport of running and racing—as competitor, coach, and community mentor—than anyone else in Delaware. For his latest honor, all we can say here at CreekRoadRunners.org is that it’s about time!

It’s also about time to have posted this article, well after Fischer’s November 20th induction into the Delaware Track & Field Hall of Fame, the institution that he initiated several years ago.

Fischer came to Delaware from his native Minnesota in 1982 to coach cross-country and track and field at the University of Delaware. He quickly became one of the initial crop of Creek Road Runners. Fischer coached both men and women at UD until 2011, when the school eliminated the men’s running program, at which point he continued coaching the women for a few more years. He put in some coaching time at Delaware Technical & Community College and has since coached at the high-school level with the Sanford School and Ursuline Academy, respectively.

However, Fischer may be remembered most universally among the running community in northern Delaware for his leading public track workouts and mentoring runners individually every Tuesday evening 11 months out of the year for 30+ years. He also organized and officiated meets that were open to the public. He loves running so much that, even after he stopped racing, he could often be seen at races—either helping out or simply encouraging runners. In addition to his affiliation with Creek Road Runners, Fischer is a member of the Pike Creek Valley Running Club.

photo of Jim FischerIn CRR lore, Fischer was one of the five scoring members on the second-place-finishing Creek Road Runners team in the 1988 Caesar Rodney Half Marathon’s corporate team competition, clocking a 1:19:05. Other scorers that day were CRR Martin Wolfer, CRR Bob Taggart, CRR Mark Deshon, and CRR Steve Cottrell.

As we close out this calendar year, we salute you, Jim.

See News Journal’s write-up on Fischer and this year’s other four Hall of Fame inductees.

Trail enthusiasts: check it out!

09 Thursday Feb 2017

Posted by deshon in Upcoming Events

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Tags

cross country, Delaware, Pennsylvania, trail creek series

photo of cover of Trail Creek Series 2017 posterThe 2017 Trail Creek Series is an off-road series of five 5k and 10k races in Delaware and Pennsylvania that Lauri Webber, wife of CRR Brian Bahnson, helps promote through the organization Velo Amis. General information about the series is found at TrailCreekSeries.org. Here’s the schedule, along with links to online registration for each of the five events:

Race 1 – March 4, 2017
Brandywine Red Clay Alliance
www.runreg.com/BRC

Race 2 – March 18, 2017
Beau Biden Foundation
www.runreg.com/Beau

Race 3 – April 22, 2017
Race to Save the World (Enoch Lee Memorial)
www.runreg.com/Enoch

Race 4 – May 13, 2017
Stateline Woods Run for Conservation
www.runreg.com/run4conservation

Race 5 – June 24, 2017
Chasin’ for Chalfin
www.runreg.com/chasinforchalfin

For more about this series or the organization behind it, contact Velo Amis.

Creek Road Runners is an informal association of runners/joggers who frequent the only quiet scenic road out of Newark, Delaware.

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You’re a real runner if…

acronyms like PR and DNF are verbs.

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you know that PR stands for something other than Puerto Rico.

you use your bib numbers to wallpaper your garage.

your resting heart rate is too low to give blood.

you look forward to birthdays when your age changes to a number ending with a 0 or 5.

you consider your latest race shirt “formal wear.”

you mentally measure junk food in miles rather than calories.

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