Seashore Striders and the bandit young gun wins Cheating Cheetah award

Watch old bandit run - A bandit in a road race is someone who doesn’t register, and he or she just jumps in the pack - a pack rat - and takes advantage of all the organization and race support, including water stops and EMTs on call in case he falls out. It’s kind of a low-class move when everyone else is paying an entry fee, but of course you don’t get a T-shirt or a trophy, but there was Hopkins ice cream at the finish line. The 35th Seashore Strider 5-Miler July 16 left from Deauville Beach, headed north and came back. The race had a 28-minute bandit, about 5:38 per mile pace for five miles. The young man finished second, but he didn’t go through the chute. Bandits are usually middle-of-the-pack runners and not lone wolves. Somewhere at the top of that race is the bandit’s buddy, who must have figured it was the 2-for-1 5-miler. “The Cheating Cheetah” sounds like a good T-shirt for our eastbound and down bandit, but this ain’t no Burt Reynolds movie. 

Chasing the wrong ball - I’m like the retriever who chases air balls and waterfalls, there’s no telling what path I’m going down during any conversation. At the Race for the Ribbon July 15, Jackie Quigley gave me a hug beforehand and told me it was her 50th birthday and that she was 16 years clean. And I asked, “What was your drug of choice?” Jackie actually knew the names of the drugs in the chemo-cocktail she took when Dr. Vinnie Killeen saved her life by sending her for a mammogram based on a slight suspicion. Jackie stared mortality down and considers herself lucky, while I’m the guy, having known her and her sisters and husband Steve since they all were in high school, who thought she had a stint as an addict or alcoholic. I mean most of my close friends are in recovery. Jackie went on to win her new age group in 23:26, beating some really good runners, most of whom I know, and I’m willing to believe any secret they are willing to share with me.

Tony Bowe - Tony is a lovely community person, and many locals have known him for a long time. He most recently worked at Super Fresh, which is now Acme. He is an athlete, a lifter and a runner, but not a bandit - he registers for races and pays the fee. Tony’s communication is slowed by stuttering, but in the world of the spoken word, never has a bad thing ever been said about Tony Bowe. T-Bowe is a gem, and he doesn’t have to be so nice, we would have liked him anyway. 

Push comes to shove - As a card-carrying member of the Linemen for Life Club, I’m amused and bemused when I see people in my new gym, Rise, pushing some weighted square across the carpet to nowhere. I remember driving the seven-man sled - wide base, bull neck, short choppy steps - 50 yards at a time with a coach or two standing on a plank looking over us like god in polyester bike shorts. We were berated and castigated, subjected to grandmother jokes, and it got personal. If you didn’t have 17-inch calves, you just never saw the field. The seven-man sled has gone away, no one gets driven off the ball anymore, lineman are allowed to use their arms, and blocking looks like a seven-second chicken fight. Ironically, chickens don’t have arms.

Snippets - My sports fantasy is to be caught by the peloton then turn around and shout “get off of my wheel” before sprinting up a hill for a stage win. If heaven is fun, I’ll be able to do all those things and have the Phillies make the playoffs. The Vikings basketball camp at Cape Henlopen High school is Monday, July 31 to Wednesday, Aug. 2 for grades 5-8. The hours are 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., and the cost is $100. Call Steve Re, the head boys’ coach, at 410-430-7851 or email Stephen.re@cape.k12.de.us. Ginger Shaud ran her first five-miler in 48:05 July 16, leaving behind her coach/stepdad Jim Deakyne, who ran 53 minutes. Special Olympics and now running the open roads, Ginger is discovering herself through fitness. It is a magical story involving lots of teachers and friends and, of course, her mom Karen. Go on now, git!