Eight runners complete six-pack series
The Seashore Striders hosted a six-pack series the past two weekends. That's six races in eight days. Two in Lewes, two in Rehoboth, one in Georgetown and one in Milton made up the series as eight runners, five male and three female, completed the challenge.
Congratulations to the following runners, listed with their three performances from the past weekend:
Mardiny Ung, 22:34, 22:08, 22:32; Joey Kwit, 52:52, 26:37, 29:58; Alejandro Castillo, 29:29, 28:19, 46:52; Jay Epstein, 28:53, 28:39, 28:09; Adrian Castillo, 29:10, 29:37, 29:56; Georgette O'Cone, 30:42, 31:47, 32:11; Dr. Lee Masser, 37:11, 35:40, 35:52; Rosanna Castillo, 1:06:57, 36:51, 42:31.
Ellis excels again, this time in France
It is only fitting that the Rehoboth Biathlon is this weekend and the all-time best female competitor in that race's history has won another big one. Mary Beth Ellis dominated the local biathlon when she was in her early teens and training with the Seashore Striders, and now she is a pro triathlete for the United States. I keep up with Ellis and her races and speak to her through email. Several of us had a great time tracking her at last fall’s Ironman Kona, where she was in the top five overall and first female. This past weekend, Ellis was the first out of the water and onto the 180K bike ride at Ironman France in Nice. Lucie Reed of the Czech Republic was second out of the water and onto the bike, but somewhere after 56K, a group consisting of Jeanne Collonge of France, Delphine Pelletier of France and age grouper Catherine Faux of Great Britain moved past Reed.
Ellis’s solo day continued through the marathon as she enjoyed a gap of 10 minutes from Faux, Collonge and Pelletier. In the end, it was Ellis with the win, Collonge who made it across the line in second, with Pelletier rounding out the podium. Congratulations to Mary Beth Ellis and good luck to Mary Beth Evans!
Remembering Coach Degnan
The 18th Bill Degnan 5K was held June 23 as a field of 150 gathered to remember a great coach, teacher and friend in Bill Degnan, who passed away in the mid-90s. Bill led the Cape Vikings to the Division I state track title in 1986 and gathered many building Teacher of the Year and even district Teacher of the Year awards throughout his tenure at Cape Henlopen. Many people remember Bill for how generous he was to people and how he pulled the good from a person regardless of what the situation was at the time. I personally remember the pranks he pulled on people as well as how well he could get through to kids and get them to achieve at their highest. Shanel Dickens, an outstanding middle distance runner while at Cape, now running for Delaware, was the official starter of the race. Over the years of the race, $18,000 has been awarded in scholarships to two graduating senior track & field or cross country athletes.
Enos Benbow won this year's event in 17:06 and came into the finish running a sub-5-minute pace, while Cindy Conant, a senior master runner at 52 years and a very good one, won the female race in 19:46 for her second win of the weekend. Matt Celsa, 17, won the 14-19 age group by finishing second overall in 17:36, while Nevin Heckman, who ran a 1:55 800 meters this spring, was third in 17:47.
Race note- Another 52-year-old, Margaret Colvin, won the female masters title in 22:20 and did so after arriving to the race at 7:29 a.m. Colvin’s warm-up consisted of a sprint through the Legends Stadium tunnel resembling Joan Benoit Samuelson entering Olympic Stadium and winning the marathon gold in 1984. As the whistle sounded and the race was off, Colvin was halfway through putting her shoes on and sprinted to catch up with the field without even a race number. We handed Colvin her number as she entered the last 300 meters so that she would have a recorded time. She won the masters race over the always tough Mardiny Ung. I say she should keep the same pre-race ritual and see if it works again this weekend.
Upcoming races
7:30 a.m., Saturday, June 29, 23rd Beach Paper Firecracker 5K Run & Walk, Grove Park, Rehoboth Beach.
8 a.m., Sunday, June 30, 23rd Rehoboth Beach Biathlon in honor of Dave Reynolds, Rehoboth Beach Patrol, Rehoboth.
8 a.m., Sunday, June 30, Bethany Beach Firecracker 5K Run & 3K Walk, Bethany Beach.
8 a.m., Sunday, June 30, 11th Rusty Rudder 5K, Dickinson Avenue, Dewey Beach.
