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Tag Archives: deshon

CRR co-founder Bob Bennett dies at 78

21 Saturday Mar 2020

Posted by deshon in News

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bennett, cottrell, Creek Road Runners, Delaware Sports Club, deshon, fischer, kaliakin, obituary, Pike Creek Valley Running Club, riordan, rose, taggart, white

photo of votive candleIt is with sadness that we announce that CRR Bob Bennett, co-founder of the Creek Road Runners, died on Monday, March 16, at his home at age 78, after a prolonged battle with Alzheimer’s Disease.

Bennett grew up in Washington, D.C., where he wrestled and ran track and cross-country for St. Alban’s, the Episcopal school associated with the National Cathedral. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, during which time he ran track and cross-country, competing well among the rival ACC schools. He went west to Stanford for graduate school, where he continued his running with local clubs and some of the West Coast’s elite runners at the time.

photo of Bob Bennett running

Here’s Bob in his heyday in the 1988 Run For Bruce 5K.

Bennett met his wife-to-be, Joan, in graduate school, and they came to the University of Delaware for his faculty appointment in the English department in 1969. Bennett’s love of Shakespeare professionally and the environment as a citizen were second only to his love of running.

Early into his time here in Newark, he joined forces with other advocates to block the proposed reservoir project that would have turned much of one of the areas of what is now White Clay Creek State Park from a natural woodland into a big lake. We Creek Road Runners remain beneficiaries of this civic victory, made possible by Bob and others having fought this proposal.

photo of Bob Taggart, Bob Bennett, and YoUDee

Bob shares the podium at the 2013 Blue Hen 5K with CRR Bob Taggart and YoUDee.

In terms of running, Bob was always one of the best in his age group in the area; his main competitors were CRR Bob Taggart and the late Doug White. In the fall of 1980, he met a young runner who had recently joined the staff at the University of Delaware—Mark Deshon. Together, they conceived of and began organizing the Creek Road Runners.

CRR Mark Deshon remembers:

Bob and I had great times together, beginning when we met nearly 40 years ago after a race on campus. He won the race, and I came in third that day. He and I began training together and remained training partners for the next 20 years.

photo of Bob Bennett running

Bob loved the downhills, shown here in the 2004 Turkey Trot.

In our second race together, the 1980 Turkey Trot 10K, we each achieved a personal breakthrough. Bob and I battled most of the way, he stretching into a lead on the downhills and me catching up to him on the uphills, until the final turn for home onto Barksdale Road. Seemingly out of nowhere, Bob blasted by both Doug White and me—a youngster of 24 at the time, out-sprinting us and clocking in at 34:01 (at age 38!).

I also remember how valuable Bob was to me as I trained for my one-and-only marathon in 1991, sharing both his vast experience and energy on my behalf. I wouldn’t have been able to achieve that milestone without him and others with whom I was running at the time. He and I shared many runs and races together, both on the roads and trails.

photo of Bob and Mark

Bob and Mark Deshon pay homage to CRR Jim Fischer in 2012.

Bob was one of my dearest friends, and it was sad to see his decline over the past several years. I’m glad I got to spend some of that time with him—early on jogging in the park, later walking the trails, and most recently (when he neither could get around very well nor remember me), just visiting him.

photo of “Millennium Men” on Dec. 31, 1999

Bob (center) ran the initial Fair Hill trail event in 1999 with CRR Mark Deshon, CRR Vic Kaliakin, CRR Skip White, and CRR Charlie Riordan.

photo of Bob Bennett and other CRRs

Bob shows off our 10th anniversary trail run–event shirt among other Creek Road Runners at UD in 2012.

CRR Skip White remembers:

I remember, starting the fall semester at UD in 1987, suiting up in the (old, old) general locker room around noon and going outside to stretch, where I ran into Mark, Bob, and CRR Steve Cottrell and asked if I could join them. I was instantly welcomed into “the club” and had new friends for life.

Bob and I were a little less than five years apart, so, unluckily for me, every five years we were in the same age category. I can’t remember how many times Bob beat me, but I do remember the two times that I beat him!

 

CRR Bill Rose remembers:

I first met Bob and Joan Bennett at St. Thomas’s Episcopal Church around 1990. I quickly appreciated that Bob was a gentle soul who loved teaching at the University of Delaware and sharing with students his love of literature, especially Shakespeare.

I first raced against Bob at a 5K at St. Thomas’s in October 1993. I remember it because it was my fastest 5K ever, and he beat me. My last run with him was a very nice couple of miles at the end of December 2014, at the annual Fair Hill trail event.

photo of Mark Deshon and Bob Bennett

Bob is at peace and having fun on Creek Road with Mark Deshon in 2017.

Bob wrote a book, Romance and Reformation: The Erasmian Spirit of Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure, which was published by the University of Delaware Press in 2000. The “Erasmian” in the title refers to the great Dutch humanist Erasmus. Like Erasmus, Bob was a scholar and a humanist. I am glad I knew him. I will miss him.


Bennett leaves behind his wife, Joan, and adult children Miriam and Aaron, their spouses, and three grandchildren.

> University of Delaware memorial article
>
Bob Bennett’s obituary

Turkey Trot winners

23 Saturday Nov 2019

Posted by deshon in Race Results

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10K, 5K, amer, chappell, deshon, repetti, ridge, schultz, simmons, Turkey Trot

illustration of turkey with running shoesChilly, but calm, conditions provided a near ideal day for the 47th Annual Turkey Trot 10K and 5K races here in Newark. There were several notables among the Creek Road Runners, as several took age-group awards.

photo of Clark RidgeIn the 10K, CRR Clark Ridge of College Park, Md., placed 4th overall (out of the 195 finishers) and took 1st among the 35-39 men in a fast 36:38. (Yes, the photo at left is one from his college days.)

Competing in his first open 10K ever, CRR Kyle Chappell, of Landenberg, Pa., placed 20th overall and 1st among the 55-59s, clocking in at 43:52. Super debut at this distance! CRR Dan Simmons, visiting from Atascadera, Calif., won the 70-74 age group in 52:43. Coming in just ahead of Simmons was CRR Doug Repetti with a 52:04, taking 3rd among the 65-69s.

photo of Mark DeshonIn the 5K, CRR Mark Deshon led the Creek Road Runners, placing 39th overall (out of 541 finishers) and turning in an inspired 7-min./mile pacing at 21:42, taking 1st place in the 60-64 age group. This is Deshon’s 10th consecutive age-group win, dating back four years to the 2015 Turkey Trot. OK, the jinx is now on!

Remarkably, CRR Doug Repetti doubled his pleasure by exactly halving his 10K time, finishing in 26:02 and taking 2nd place in his age group! Also competing in both races was CRR Dan Simmons (hey, if you’re coming all the way across the country, you might as well run twice), taking 3rd place among the 70-74s with a 38:33.

On the female side, CRR Christine Schultz took third in the 45-49 age group, posting a 28:25 for her 5K.

A word of note here—reminder that, whenever possible, CreekRoadRunners.org displays gun time, not chip time, traditionalists as we may be. So, occasionally explanations like the following are necessary.

In the case of CRR Doug Ridge (father of Clark), who took 2nd among the 75-79s in 34:05 while running with his grandson, he crossed the line six seconds ahead of CRR Paul Amer, who finished 3rd in the 65-69 age group with a 34:11. However, Amer actually ran the course seven seconds faster than did Ridge, based on their respective chip times.

Anyway, congratulations to all. Now, go have some turkey.

CRRs take five firsts

28 Monday Oct 2019

Posted by deshon in Race Results

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deshon, nigro, ridge, rose, sisofo, tague, UD Blue Hens Homecoming 5K, weber

photo of Luke Nigro and Andrew Weber

Luke Nigro pressures eventual winner Andrew Weber in the final mile of the 5K.

photo of Andrew WeberThe 2019 edition of the UD Homecoming 5K was a real success for the few Creek Road Runners who ran the race. Out of our 12 participants (all male), five garnered top awards and one a third-place age-group finish.

photo of Luke NigroThe battle at the front was between CRR Andrew Weber and CRR Luke Nigro. Weber ended up besting the younger Nigro and winning the race in a time of 17:39. Nigro came in second overall and first in the 19-29 age group in 17:45.

Among the age group winners were CRR Bruce Weber (50-59), who placed fifth overall in 19:15, CRR Bill Rose (60-69), placing 17th overall in 21:05, and 73-year-old CRR Doug Ridge (70+), who ran a respectable 28:29.

CRR Steve Tague finished third in the 60-69 age group in 22:36. A couple seconds behind (but nearly catching) Tague was CRR Mark Deshon, who ran unofficially over the combination paved, cross-country-like surface of the 5K course at the University of Delaware’s athletics complex and agricultural campus.

A shout-out to CRR Nick Sisofo, who made a rare race appearance.

CRR relay team repeats as champions

29 Monday Apr 2019

Posted by deshon in Race Results

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champions, Delaware Half Marathon, Delaware Marathon Festival, deshon, farquhar, Marathon Relay, mccooey, nigro, rose, smiljanec, weber

photo of Katarina Smiljanec finishingThe CRR Delaware Marathon Relay team roster changed from last year. Due to a schedule conflict, CRR Bill Farquhar was not able to run, and CRR Mark Deshon had gone into “relay retirement.” So, team captain CRR Bill Rose injected some “younger blood” into the team, recruiting newbies CRR Luke Nigro and CRR Katarina Smiljanec to join him and CRR Bruce Weber. This strategy paid off smashingly on April 28 in Wilmington, as the team turned in a stellar 2:49:23, winning the team competition by a mile (actually by more than three miles) and defending CRR’s relay championship from last year.

photo of Andrew WeberIn the Delaware Half-Marathon, though 39-year-old CRR Andrew Weber (no relation to Bruce Weber other than serious speed) was not able to repeat his championship performance of last year, he ran a faster time by 23 seconds and finished second overall (out of 785 finishers) in the Delaware Half-Marathon, in a time of 1:22:11. CRR Kevin McCooey ran a 2:05:11.

photo of 2019 CRR marathon relay team

2019 relay team—Bruce Weber, Luke Nigro, Katarina Smiljanec, and team captain Bill Rose

The brand new marathon course took advantage of the Jack A. Markell Trail. A bicycle rider accompanied the lead relay runner, and the CRR team led the entire way. Legs were not exactly equal, unlike previous years’ four-lap course, and the 1-2 exchange ended up being 0.3 mile farther than the course map indicated.

Leg 1 (Rose) was net uphill, leg 2 (Nigro) was net downhill, and legs 3 (Weber) and 4 (Smiljanec) were flat, each with a small rise/fall going past the DuPont Environmental Education Center at the south end of the Wilmington Riverfront. Legs 3 and 4 were scenic but rather lonely for Weber and Smiljanec over much of the route, out and back along the Markell Trail.

Here’s how Rose described the race:

photo of relay team with plaques

CRR relay team with their first-place plaques

By the time I handed off to Luke at about 6.3 miles, there were four (full) marathoner competitors ahead of me. Luke chased down three of them on leg 2, leaving only one runner ahead of Team CRR. Bruce put time between him and all the relay teams and marathoners behind him. Therefore, Bruce was the second runner to arrive at the 19.6-mile point (3-4 exchange), preceded only by the eventual (full) marathon winner, and 2:05 ahead of the next fastest runner.

Kat ran the final 6.6 miles in 40:21, which was 4:37 faster than any other runner on that leg, relay or full! She finished in 2:49:23. Kat’s run was [basically] a solo time trial, since she was out of sight of anyone going her way, ahead or behind. Somehow, the race organizers had not had time or forethought to set up a tape for her to break, so Wayne Kursh asked Kat to re-enact the finish-line crossing, this time breaking a tape.

Split times were as follows: Rose (44:36), Nigro (42:00), Weber (42:26), and Smiljanec (40:21).

The reward for CRR was a nice set of plaques and a free relay-team registration for next year!

CRRs tackle 56th Caesar Rodney half

25 Monday Mar 2019

Posted by deshon in Race Results

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Caesar Rodney, cottrell, deshon, fischer, half marathon, kauffman, mccooey, repetti, scott, taggart, wolfer

Caesar Rodney race logo 2019Of the 661 finishers in this year’s running of the Caesar Rodney Half Marathon, the oldest of all road races in Delaware, four senior Creek Road Runners competed in this, the 56th edition, contested on March 24 in Wilmington.

photo of Doug Repettiphoto of Holly ScottIn order of finish, 68-year-old CRR Doug Repetti clocked a 1:56:18 (1:55:52 chip), finishing 7th among the 65-59s; 58-year-old CRR Holly Scott turned in a 1:56:24 (1:55:06 chip), finishing 6th in her five-year age group; 56-year-old CRR Theresa Kauffman finished in 2:02:47 (2:02:12 chip); and 61-year-old CRR Kevin McCooey crossed the line in 2:08:51 (2:08:04 chip). Congratulations to each.


It was 31 years ago, during the 25th annual Caesar Rodney, that a team of seven Creek Road Runners took second place in the corporate team competition. That day in 1988 on the old (more hilly) course, CRRs were led by the second-place finish of CRR Martin Wolfer. The other four scoring members on the team were CRR Bob Taggart, CRR Mark Deshon, CRR Jim Fischer, and CRR Steve Cottrell. Each finished in under 80 minutes, which would have placed all five scorers in the top 11 of this year’s race. Yeah, we were all younger and faster back then.

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You’re a real runner if…

acronyms like PR and DNF are verbs.

the thought of signing up for a 401K is scary.

your blood pressure is 92 over 56 and you are conscious.

you drive 100 miles to a 5K race.

you can convert kilometers to miles in your head.

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you’ve converted your marathon medals into a wind chime.

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you drive down the freeway and think to yourself, “Hey, my car is doing 1-minute miles.”

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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