It was a picture-perfect day for a race on Creek Road, and the Creek Road Runners did not disappoint, taking home three 1st place, three 2nd place, and one 3rd place among the age-group awards handed out on Sunday morning at the Blue Hen 5K.
Leading the way and crossing the line 4th overall out of 256 finishers was CRR Bill Rose. Rose weaved his way through many a runner over the course to finish where he did, having run an even 20:00. Creek Road Runners owned the 50-59 age group; Rose won and was joined by 2nd place finisher CRR Mark Deshon (21:08) and 3rd place finisher CRR Cole Galloway (21:12), whose son, Nathan, came in second overall with a tidy 18:23.
Passing several runners along the way, CRR Dan Weile turned in a good performance and earned a 2nd place among the 40-49s in 20:55. Deshon just couldn’t stay in contact with him for the second half of the race.
Despite her admission that the hill at the end “beat [her] up,” CRR Diane Kukich won the 60-69 age group in a time of 25:03. Not to be outdone by her own peers, CRR Julie Brewer was the other female age-group (50-59) winner on the day in 27:33.
CRR John Bishop also deserves a nod for his 2nd place finish among the 70-and-overs in 43:11, even though he’d probably be the first to admit that there were very few in that age group.
In the half-marathon, CRR Natalie Rosenberg finished 68th overall (out of 1,159) in 1:41:50, placing 4th in her age group (25-29). CRR Dave Schultz just squeaked under two hours with a 1:59:37. Wife CRR Christine Schultz came in a few minutes later at 2:05:52.
CRR 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!
In 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.
Taking age-group firsts were CRR Bill Rose and CRR Becky George, who each won the 50-59s. Rose must have really enjoyed the surface, as evidenced by his 19:15 time (fourth place overall). George’s time was 25:27.
CreekRoadRunners.org 