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Tag Archives: riordan

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

Riordan will shine

07 Wednesday Dec 2016

Posted by deshon in Kudos, News

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Dunkin' Donuts, riordan, UD

photo of Charlie RiordanCharlie runs on Dunkin’Congratulations to CRR Charlie Riordan who was just appointed Vice President for Research, Scholarship and Innovation at the University of Delaware. These three areas certainly cover a lot of ground on campus. We know that Charlie will shine; the question is… Will he still run? Could depend a lot on corporate sponsorship (see image at right), although with his new position, we imagine a bit of a bump in that category too. See you on Creek Road, Charlie.

Robinson “plays” with fellow CRRs

23 Monday Mar 2015

Posted by deshon in Stories

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abraham, amer, deshon, goodwin, musing, pusecker, reed, riordan, robinson, running

photo of Matt RobinsonSelf-proclaimed, self-appointed Creek Road Runners CEO CRR Matt Robinson publicly called out several of his peers in an opinion piece in the Wilmington News Journal’s Saturday edition.

The article itself was interesting enough and then suddenly took a turn for the comic tongue-in-cheek.

Robinson writes, “If my runs were about inspection, I know I would be outrunning my fellow runners Charlie [CRR Charlie Riordan], Mark [CRR Mark Deshon], Steve [CRR Steve Goodwin], Paul A. [CRR Paul Amer] and Tom [CRR Tom Reed], and I know I could find better golfers than Avron [CRR Avron Abraham], Ian and Paul P. [CRR Paul Pusecker], but I enjoy the time away from inspection and distraction. I’d rather focus on thoughts and great ideas that have surfaced during one of those runs, or the good laughs and insightful conversations I have had with my running group and golfing buddies.”

Trying to impugn someone’s golf game is one thing, but, inspection or no inspection, Robinson has now thrown down the gauntlet for the aforementioned runners.

Read the entire article, which is actually pretty good, though maybe our CEO could be spending less time musing and more time on Creek Road.

16th annual run sees another record turnout

31 Wednesday Dec 2014

Posted by deshon in News, Race Results, Stories

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barton, bennett, corbitt, Creek Road Runners, deshon, fair hill, george, holden, hubbard, jackey, kaliakin, kukich, opila, pillarelli, Ring in the New, riordan, robinson, rose, schultz, schumacher, shay, strickland, trail run, Wring Out the Old

Despite below-freezing temperatures, 24 hearty souls and one ready-for-a-long-run canine came out to participate in the 16th annual “Wring Out the Old, Ring in the New” trail run at the Fair Hill Natural Resource Management Area’s Black Bridge Road parking lot on the last day of 2014.

This year was highlighted by, count ’em, 11 women—coming out in force to share this unique New Year’s Eve day experience for themselves—and a special appearance by self-appointed CEO CRR Matt Robinson. Special thanks to photographer Doug Baker, husband of CRR Diane Kukich, for taking so many good photos (sorry we only had room for a few).

> See full story

photo of participants in the 16th Annual “Wring Out the Old, Ring in the New” trail run

front row: Toby the dog, Kathy Corbitt (the “two”), Patrick Robinson, Rachel Strickland, Lawson Schultz (the “zero”), Christine Schultz, Diane Kukich, Bill Rose (the “one”), Bob Bennett, Becky George, and Mark Deshon; back row: Thomas Schumacher, Katie Holden, Dave Schultz, Mike Shay, Bob Opila, Jordan Deshon, Vic Kaliakin, Bruce Hubbard, Charlie Riordan, Beverly Jackey, Sue Barton, Emily Barton, Deanna Pillarelli, and Matt Robinson (the “five”)

Latest results: Philly Half and Reindeer

11 Thursday Dec 2014

Posted by deshon in Race Results

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barton, coughenour, crispin, kukich, Philadelphia Half Marathon, Reindeer Run & Romp, riordan, rose, simmons

At two recent races, one regional and one local, Creek Road Runners shone nearly as bright as the dimming late-autumn sun.

photo of Jay CoughenourCRR Jay Coughenour ran the Philadelphia Half Marathon in a splendid time of 1:18:53. His chip time of 1:18:34 put him just a fraction of a second under a six-minute-per-mile pace for the 13.1-mile distance. Coughenour was the second finisher in the 45-49 age group and placed 85th the among men and 91st overall. Excellent at age 49!

photo of Keith CrispinIn the Reindeeer Run & Romp 5K, held here in Newark on Friday night, CRR Keith Crispin placed 10th overall out of 406 finishers, winning the 45-49 age group in 18:52. CRR Dan Simmons, just coming off an injury, won the 65-69 age group in 23:53, and CRR Diane Kukich won her age group (60-64) in 24:11. Other age-group awardees included CRR Bill Rose, who took second place among the 55-59s in a very respectable 19:58, and CRR Sue Barton, who placed third among the 55-59s in 28:06.

In non-running-related news, rumor has it that CRR Charlie Riordan lit up the court at The Bob recently with a halftime free-throw-shooting exhibition. Now we know where he’s been training. We know “Charlie Runs on Dunkin’”; the question is Can he dunk on Dunkin’?

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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.

your iPod has a “running” playlist.

you check out road races while on vacation.

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

you consider running 3 miles to be a warm up.

you know the shoe store guy better than some relatives.

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.

you have your own name for all the local public trails.

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