The granddaddy of Newark road racing, the annual Turkey Trot 10K and 5K were contested on Saturday. There were five award winners among the Creek Road Runners.
In the 10K, CRR Christina Parsons won the 50-54 age group, finishing 40th overall out of 178 runners in 48:36. Parsons margin of victory in her age group was more than seven minutes! CRR Steve Tague, who finished 24th overall, ran a solid 44:37 and took second in the 55-59 age group.
In the 5K, the honors go to two 70-and-over seniors, who each won this ever-thinning division. CRR Doug Ridge won in 28:28, and CRR April Anderson won in 42:12 (no doubt walking much of it).
The fastest time among CRRs in the 5K belonged to CRR Doug Repetti, who ran a 27:05, taking second place among the 65-69s.
A well-deserved Thanksgiving meal goes to you five.
In the 5K, CRR Mark Deshon ran his best 5K time of the year, winning the 60-64s and placing 12th overall out of 444 finishers, with a 21:02. This race completed a “run” of 4-for-4 age-group wins in local races for Deshon in 2017. CRR Mary Braun finished 3rd among the 55-59s in 27:58. Multiple-state-record-holder CRR Bob Taggart placed 2nd in the 75-and-over age group in 31:10.
Next Saturday, Nov. 18, the Newark community will gather, pre-holiday eating, to run in the 45th Annual Turkey Trot 10K and 5K races on Barksdale Road. The 10K will start at 9:00 and the 5K at 10:30.
Saturday was a glorious day for racing (or pretty much any activity) in Newark. CRR Dan Weile took full advantage of the sunshine and mild temperatures during the 44th annual Turkey Trot, winning his age group (40-44) in the 10K and placing 3rd among his age-group peers in the 5K (just for a cool-down, we suppose). He was the 25th finisher (out of 185) in the 10K in 43:25 and 31st overall (out of 525 participants) in the 5K in 21:59, both solid times.
Coming off heart surgery early this year, CRR Bob Taggart won his age group (75-79) in the 5K in 30:03. A 5K footnote—had CRR Mark Deshon actually registered for the race (he only did three of the 3.1 miles), he would have won his age group (60-64) by about three minutes.
CRR Doug Repetti ran both the 10K and the 5K, winning the 60-64 division of the 10K in 47:33 and taking an age-group second in the 5K in 23:44—a very impressive endurance showing. Repetti placed 40th overall out of 247 finishers in the 10K.