Tag Archives: half marathon

First State Half Marathon standouts

27 Monday Mar 2023

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On a cool, windy Saturday, March 25, 319 participants finished the First State Half Marathon, held right here in Newark, Delaware. Among the age-group winners were two Creek Road Runners.

photo of Andrew Weber
photo of Doug Repetti

Placing 7th overall and winning the men’s 40-49 division was CRR Andrew Weber, clocking in at 1:20:30*, just a bit over six minutes per mile.

Winning the men’s 70-and-over division was CRR Doug Repetti. Repetti finished 180th overall and 113th among the men in 2:07:09*.

Of note was the the close finish of two other CRRs. CRR Steve Tague finished in 95th overall in 1:50:52*, just 15 seconds ahead of CRR Christina Parsons’ time of 1:51:07*.

*chip time

Editor’s Note: CRR Mark Deshon got an up-close-and-personal view of this rather unusual out-and-back race, as he handed out water and/or encouragement to the above-mentioned from the turnaround.

Wolfer still ticking in his 60s

22 Friday Jul 2022

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Like a fine Swiss timepiece, CRR Martin Wolfer just keeps on ticking. Living a few miles southeast of Zürich, he is ever ready for the next grueling challenge among the beauty of his beloved Swiss alps, where he and his wife, Conny, vacation annually.

photo of Martin Wolfer with Zermatt peak in the background
Wolfer in the early stage of the race, with the Zermatt peak in the background

On July 2, Wolfer completed a rather unique race over varying terrain—the “Top20 Run.” Starting near Zermatt, at an altitude of 1,609m (approx. 5,261 ft.—think Denver, Colo.), the 22.1km (13.7-mile) course rose in the first 10km to about 2,300m (7,521 ft.), then leveled off for the next 6km, before climbing steeply over the final 6km to the finish at Gornergrat—elevation 3,101m (that’s about 10,140 ft.)!

Wolfer’s finishing time was 2:52:30. The other unique feature of the Top20 was that one’s place was determined by using an age-dependent factor. So, even though Wolfer is now 65 years of age, he came in 8th overall among the 143 men who finished, with an age-accounted-for time score of 2:13:46 (a 0.7754 factor having been applied to his actual finishing time).

With regard to the course, Wolfer said, “Above 2500m the air becomes very thin.” He could run over the initial 16km but admitted that, for him, ”in the steep part only walking was possible.” Understandable might be an understatement. So is the word impressive.

photo of Martin Wolfer with other race awardees
Wolfer, second from right, posing among the other award winners

For those of you who weren’t around Creek Road in the mid- to late-1980s, while Wolfer was living in Newark, Del., he was one of the area’s preeminent racers, at one point holding both the Delaware 5K and marathon records in his age group! Back then, he could run around 15 flat in a 5K and had a marathon time of 2 hours, 28 minutes and change.

Nice to see that he is in good shape and still ticking off the miles, er, kilometers.

Racing through March

28 Monday Mar 2022

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We’re transitioning from winter into spring once again, and there have been a few notable racing achievements this month.

photo of Bruce Weber

On March 13, at the 21st annual Logan House 5K in Wilmington, CRR Bruce Weber was one of several competitive senior runners to finish well up in the overall results. Weber finished 5th overall and 2nd among the 60-64s in 20:18. Among the 60-year-olds, there were four runners in the top 12 of the race, all under 7-min./mile pace. Looks like this is perhaps the strongest 10-year age group of all the northern Delaware–area men runners.

photo of April Anderson

On March 19 in Virginia Beach, 77-year-old CRR April Anderson completed the Yeungling Shamrock 5K in 1:05:28, placing 3rd among 18 participants in the 75-79 age group in this, the 50th anniversary of the Shamrock Marathon Weekend of racing, a mega-event on the East Coast. She also placed 3rd among her age-group peers in the March 20 local Fusion Run for the Buds 5K.

photo of Clark Ridge
photo of Andrew Weber

On March 26, in the First State Half Marathon, Newark native and CRR Clark Ridge, son of veteran CRR Doug Ridge, was the top master’s runner, clocking a 1:17:16 and finishing 5th overall. Newark’s 42-year-old CRR Andrew Weber (right) placed 16th overall in 1:23:11 and won the men’s 40-49 age group (as Ridge, who is also 42, took top honors).

photo of Doug Repetti

And much like the Eveready Energizer bunny, CRR Doug Repetti just keeps going and going. In the same race, the septuagenarian won the 70-and-over age group with a time of 1:59:53, placing him 131st overall out of 331 competitors and 55th among the 103 men’s masters.

Congratulations to all!

Now, on to warmer weather.

Half of New England, three New England halfs

29 Saturday Aug 2020

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photo of Dave SchultzYou might also call it “Dave’s excellent adventure.”

There’s nothing like running on vacation trips in beautiful locations. But three half-marathon distances in ten days? That’s a bit on the crazy side, but CRR Dave Schultz seemed to have a good time anyway.

graphic map of northern New England showing locations of 3 runsSchultz’s adventure began on August 2, during which he completed a 13.1-mile distance while running from West Peabody, Mass., to Salem, Mass., and back in a time of 1 hour and 57 minutes.

Next up—beautiful Acadia National Park on Mt. Desert Island in Maine. Beginning in Bar Harbor on August 8, Schultz did a mostly-trail run through the park. By his own admission, the time was slow (2 hours and 44 minutes), but, hey, it was a trail run in and he put in an extra half mile or so (13.7 mi.).

After visiting the White Mountains in New Hampshire and hiking up and down the 6,288-ft. Mt. Washington, Schultz completed his New England half-marathon trifecta on August 11 in Nashua, N.H., covering a 13.3-mi. distance in 2 hours and 20 minutes.

Quite the accomplishment and quite the stamina! Well done.

So, what did you do on your summer vacation?

Three CRRs pirate a good time in Florida

05 Thursday Mar 2020

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photo of April AndersonCCR April Anderson and her husband, CCR Bruce Hubbard, ran the Gasparilla Distance Classic 5K on February 22. Anderson wanted to try out the competition in her new age group (75-79) and got second out of 32 women, which, because she finished within the top 10 percent of her class, netted her a mug and a doubloon award. There were more than 10,600 participants in the 5K. Anderson’s time was 37:41 (37:01 chip).

She was aiming for something in the upper 35- or at least 36-minute range, but it was too crowded, especially at the beginning. Anderson reported that there were five corrals but (as is often the case) many of the runners did not go into the correct corral for their average speed and just stopped and walked in front of her, congesting the way and slowing her down. Hubbard’s finishing time was 42:57 (42:33 chip), slowed a bit by the same issue.

Anderson says, “I hope I can report a placing in the Shamrock Sports Fest in Virginia Beach. I bought a cool medal hanger with a picture of a long, rural road that says ‘There will be a day when I can no longer do this. Today is NOT that day.’ But, at 75, who knows!”

Arrrrr! CRR Rachel Mroz details her Gasparilla Half Marathon experience, which included nearly 4,200 other finishers:

Escaping the “winter” in Delaware to head to sunny Florida for a weekend? Sign me up! The Gasparilla Distance Classic is a weekend filled with four races—5K and15K on Saturday and Half Marathon and 8K on Sunday. Runners can opt for challenges by signing up for combos of the races. I just did the half. 

photo of the 2020 Gasparilla Half Marathon medalWhile not part of the Gasparilla pirate festival in Tampa, this race keeps with the pirate theme and has an awesome medal (don’t judge, but I only do races with good medals)! 

The run is very well organized, and the course is pancake flat with views of Hillsborough Bay along Bayshore Boulevard for 80 percent of the course. With the half marathon capped at 6,500 runners, the course never felt crowded. It was my first time doing the race, and I will definitely do it again and maybe try one of the challenges next year. 

The weather was perfect for running—51 degrees at the start with very low humidity. My chip time was 2:37:22 [2:42:41 gun], which I’m happy with, considering (1) the amount of training I put in (not extensive), (2) the stops along the course to take photos (including one with Chewbacca), and (3) just generally taking my time to enjoy the course and the views. Got a shout out from the finish-line announcer who corrected his pronunciation of Newark to “New-ark” as I was crossing the line. 

Runners are allowed to hang out in the Convention Center before the short walk to the start line, so that means a real restroom, a place to top off the phone battery, and a comfortable place to get some pre-race stretching done.

Can’t guarantee the perfect weather for next year, but if you want a super flat, fast course and to escape Delaware for a few days (maybe next year will be snowy?), this is a great race to do.