Enos Benbow wins Bill Degnan 5K in nice-guy Zen moment

A 5K race in honor of nice guy Bill Degnan was won June 23 by nice guy Enos Benbow, 31, in a time of 17:06.

Eighteen years ago with snow on the ground the super-fit teacher and coach Bill Degnan took himself to the doctor with a racing heart.  A week later Bill was gone, having succumbed to myocarditis, a disease that attacks the lining of the heart.

The Faith in Human Spirit Award was created in Bill’s honor and is given out each year to a Cape senior track athlete who exemplifies those never-back-down qualities and performance under pressure.

Fittingly, Shanel Dickens, the 2012 Degnan winner and daughter of the late Eduardo and Priscilla Saez, was the starter for the race.

There were 127 competitors who completed the course from Cape’s Legends Stadium through expensive neighborhoods and back again.

Cindy Conant was the overall woman’s winner in 19:45, followed by 14-year-old Julia Lambert in 20:52.

Kathy Lambert, 43, won her age group in 23:21, while Ted Lambert, 44, won his age group in 20:30. The Lamberts are from Virginia Beach, a family of great runners, begging the question, “Who is watching the dog?”

Breck Vanderwende on his 40th birthday won the 35-39 age group in 19:21. That’s the quirkiest fact since a 26-year-old Rehoboth lifeguard gave a wrong age in the Rehoboth Avenue Mile and took the trophy for 19 and under, forever earning him the nickname Product 19.