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~ Newark, Delaware

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Tag Archives: track and field

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.

Fischer named 2020 Delaware Coach of the Year

27 Wednesday Jan 2021

Posted by deshon in Kudos, News

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Coach of the Year, coaching, cross country, fischer, hall of fame, track and field, University of Delaware, Ursuline Academy

For CRR Jim Fischer, it can seem like a bit of a redemption story, though not of his own choosing.

You see, Fischer had coached the University of Delaware’s DI men’s cross-country and track-and-field teams for three decades in his previous coaching life. That came to a gut-wrenching end in 2011, as UD erased its men’s running program over the course of three years while he was at the helm. Something about Title IX, despite all the good he was doing for the young athletes, most of whom happened to be great students as well.

photo of Jim Fischer trackside
Coach Fischer at a UD track meet in 2011

“It really hurt me,” Fischer admitted. “It was not only that that’s what I loved. It was also that it wasn’t a valued program to [the UD administration], and that hurt even worse.”

Well, after having had his job eliminated at UD, Fischer took positions with Delaware Technical & Community College and then Sanford School, respectively, before getting an opportunity with the Ursuline Academy—an all-girls’ school most famous for having produced WNBA superstar Elena DelleDonne. In the five years Coach Fischer has been at Ursuline, the school has won the past three girls Division II state cross-country titles, displacing the perennial juggernaut Tatnall School. Prior to his arrival, Ursuline hadn’t won that coveted state title since 1998.

Now, Coach Fischer has been honored as the 2020 Delaware Coach of the Year for these latest accomplishments, just another in a series of awards for one who is already a member of the Delaware Sports Hall of Fame.

A native of Minnesota, Coach Fischer has been a Creek Road Runner, as well as a member of the Pike Creek Valley Running Club, since coming on the scene in Delaware back in the ’80s. He has always been an advocate for running and racing and has for decades now been holding community workouts on Tuesday nights, helping runners of all abilities to improve and/or meet their goals.

Hearty congratulations, Coach, from Creek Road Runners!

> See full News Journal story.

Local UPenn runner completes own “Covid-19 marathon”

26 Thursday Mar 2020

Posted by deshon in News, Stories

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Covid-19, marathon, roth, track and field, UPenn

photo of Andrew Hally running with teammates, including Alex RothAndrew Hally, a Salesianum (Wilmington, Del.) School grad and senior runner for the University of Pennsylvania, was not going to allow the coronavirus to keep him down, despite the track season’s cancellation. So, he came up with a monumental idea to close out his final year of running at Penn—design and run his own marathon course in the streets of Philadelphia.

The inspiring story was covered recently on Philly’s 6ABC News. It is of note for more than just the finishing ribbon with attached bottle of hand sanitizer that his sister gave him upon completing the 26.2-mile course. One of Hally’s support crew in his marathon effort was UPenn track teammate Alex Roth (far left in photo above), son of our own CRR Charlie Roth.

> See online story and video

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.

Parsons to compete at NCAAs this week

06 Monday Jun 2016

Posted by deshon in Kudos, News, Race Results, Upcoming Events

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10K, nationals, NCAA, parsons, track and field

photo of Sam Parsons in the East Region 10K in Jacksonville, Fla.Sam Parsons, a redshirt junior at North Carolina State and son of CRR George Parsons and CRR Christina Parsons, qualified late last month for the nationals with an 11th place East Region finish in the 10,000m run in Jacksonville, Fla., in a stellar 30:05. He will be one of the 24 competitors in Eugene, Ore., on the hallowed Hayward Field track in the 10K later this week.

Set your DVRs for coverage of the NCAA Men’s Track and Field Championships on ESPN2 from June 8–11.

Creek Road Runners wish Sam good luck and swift feet!

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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