3,000 ready to run Rehoboth full and half marathon
The ninth annual Rehoboth Beach Seashore Marathon and Half Marathon will disembark from the Bandstand at 7 a.m., Saturday, Dec. 3.
The lead runners follow the purple-and-gold electric Seashore Striders cart, while everyone else follows them. Half marathoners turn around early, creating some colorful two-way traffic back to a common finish line in Rehoboth.
Runners wear race bibs with computer chips embedded that read their start and finish times. Results are instantaneous; the entire operation is high tech, which eases the pain of running 26 miles.
The boost to the local economy in enormous, as marathoners tend to travel in families, with enough disposable income to rent rooms and go out for dinner. The year-round running scene in coastal Delaware - some call it a scenic mecca - brings in thousands of tourists every year who are into fitness.
“The marathon is the standard by which most runners judge themselves,” said Tim Bamforth of the Seashore Striders. “There are magical standards to break, like under three hours, then it goes in 15-minute blocks after that. Anyone who breaks four hours has put in some serious training time, but honestly, the recreational runner tends to be undertrained for marathon distance compared to those from the ’70s who trained 70 to 100 miles a week and also did interval work on the track.”
A local, self-proclaimed insane group of runners call themselves The Certified Running Nuts. Their ages range from 8 to 84, and many of them race 100 times a year. Using $30 as an average entry fee, that is $3,000 a year for T-shirts and awards, if you place in the top three of your age group.
Course records for the Rehoboth Marathon are Michael Wardian in 2:28:34 in 2010 and Carol Jefferson in 2:50:34 in 2011.
Wardian is the quintessential running insane person in the USA, known to some locals as The Congenial Crazy Guy. The former Michigan State lacrosse player does ultra 100-mile races and had set a national record for the treadmill marathon in under 2:30 before he collapsed.
The grand director of the race, Mary Beth Evans, said: “We had an economic impact study done in 2015 by Kent State University. Sixteen percent of the participants were local; 84 percent were outside of Sussex County. They estimated the Rehoboth Seashore Marathon/Half Marathon had a direct and indirect impact on the local economy of $3.21 million.”
There are 46 states represented in this year’s marathon. Maryland leads the way with 636 runners, followed by Pennsylvania with 630 and Delaware with 479.
Reasons to run range from the frivolous, like Caroline Judge and Maura Johnson, “because we’re crazy,” to Kelly Pettyjohn, “I’m running the full for many reasons. I started running four years ago to prove to this unathletic person that I could do it, to check off getting my master’s degree and my marathon before I turn 40, but most of all to give my middle school daughter a mom that is healthy and determined that she can look up to!”
More reasons to run are listed below.
Brooke Gelatka Magni: “I am running the full marathon with a kid I coached when she was in high school that is now graduating college! Her gift is going to be a Boston Qualifier [we hope!]”
Nora Haefele: “I am doing the half marathon because it was my goal to reach my 40th half marathon by the end of the year. Last year, Rehoboth was my 25th half. I like this race because it is flat, fun, festive and it has a full marathon going on at the same time, so I'm not out there alone as a slow half marathoner. It's also well-organized, has a super responsive race director and a great after party. What's not to love?”
Holly Krantz: “Looking forward to running a nice local course! I do a lot of training runs on the Junction and Breakwater Trail, and I’m excited for this race. Also, I’m running for my brother, who won the 2011 Rehoboth Marathon. He's been in and out of the hospital with complications from ulcerative colitis over the last few months, so I'm running because he can't right now.”
Stacie Valley: “Running my very first full for my grandpa! He showed up at the half marathon in 2014 and the look on his face was absolutely priceless! I'll never forget that look, that's why I'm running the full. For him!”
Laurie West Milnes: “I started running after my son, who is a cancer survivor, told me he was healthy now and that I needed to take care of myself. My youngest daughter is joining me and this is her first half and I am a Certified Running Nut.”
Darlene Suduba Hagan: “This is a personal goal for me. At first, it was because of the weight I lost and how good I was feeling; I wanted to push myself beyond my limits! However, over the last several months, I have been fighting severe depression and anxiety disorder, along with a ton of other health issues arising that have totally disrupted my training and helped pack some weight back on. Now it is my goal just to finish and hit a huge milestone defeating all of the odds.”
There will be 3,000 reasons for running along the flyways and byways between Rehoboth and Lewes this Saturday, and certainly a sense of accomplishment is common to all runners, but overcoming personal hardships and demons, and dedicating their efforts to others are what make the sport so much fun and fulfilling.
