A first-year field of 160 took part in the inaugural Corn to Run 5K held Sept. 29 at the East Coast Garden Center in Millsboro. A 5,000-meter course was designed around a 200-acre field of corn.  Runners followed a 12-foot path, which was left unplanted, through the cornfield. The 1.55-mile mark was the turnaround, where the runners navigated through and around a mud hole and took in the only water stop on the course.

“We were real excited here at East Coast Garden Center to put on our first Corn to Run event. It was held during our fall festival,” said Chris Cordrey, coordinator. “The fall festival has been a success in the past with a lot of fun things going on. We had hayrides, games for kids, free beer brats, hotdogs and much more, but we wanted to do a run, and we thought it would be pretty unique to have the run through the cornfield. I hope everyone that came out enjoyed the fun, and we look forward to next year for a bigger and better event.”

Speaking of unique, the overall champion on the male side was a man named Fozzie Bear, 41, racing to an 18:37 win, while Stephanie D’Ambrosio of Salisbury, Md., won the female title in 20:50. Chris Stanley, 43, of Fruitland, Md., was second overall and the top masters finisher in 18:46, while Helen Morrow of Millsboro won the female masters in 22:42.

Even the coordinator took home some hardware, as Chris Cordrey won the 20-29 age group in 21:45. Results, photos and video can be found at seashorestriders.com.

Ravens boys win Tidewater Invite

The Ravens of Sussex Tech dominated the field at the Tidewater Fall Classic held Oct. 3 at Winterplace Park in Salisbury, hosted by the Salisbury University cross country team. The Ravens won the team title with 32 points over Kent Island, which scored 48 points for second. Milford rounded out the top three teams with 78 points. The Cape Vikings were fifth with 149 points.

Individually for the Ravens, it was Victor Rueda winning the overall championship with his first title and PR of 16:51.   Dylan Varrato was third in 17:08, while Sam Hete grabbed fourth in 17:14. Jake Bamforth was 10th in 17:38, while Bobby Townley rounded out the top five for the Ravens in 18:02.

Ryan Thornburg and Austin MacElrevey grabbed 16th and 17th for the Vikings in a time of 18:14, while Amir Conley ran 19:11 for the number three spot.

On the girls' side, Sussex Tech finished third as a team with 86 points, while the Vikings were fifth with 149 points.

Bethany Killmon led the Ravens across the line with a fifth-place finish in 21:03, followed by Natasha Taylor, who turned in a 22:20. Sprinter Briana Hall ran in the third spot in 22:48 while Megan Davidson ran 22:58.

Madison MacElrevey led the Vikings in a time of 22:01, followed by Karen Rams in 23:06.

Next stop for the Ravens and Vikings is the Sallies Invite this Saturday, Oct. 6, one of the most challenging courses on the East Coast at Brandywine Creek.

Upcoming Races

5 p.m., Friday, Oct. 5, 5th Dolphin Dash for Betty 5K Run & Walk, Shields Elementary School, Lewes.

8 a.m., Saturday, Oct. 6, 3rd Hurlock Day 5K, Hurlock Elementary School, Hurlock, Md.

Noon, Saturday, Oct. 6, 2nd Dewey Goes Pink at the Starboard 5K, Dewey Beach.

9 a.m., Sunday, Oct. 7, Run for the House at Irish Eyes 5K, Lewes.