Cross trainer, MMA fighter wins Striders women's 5K

Tatiana Sheptock, 36, from South Riding, Va., won the Seashore Striders 5K women-only race July 6 in Rehoboth Beach, crossing over the turtle footbridge and through the finish chute in a winning time of 18:46.

Of Polish and Croatian ancestry, Tatiana is the mother of two young children. She trains 35 miles a week, does lots of speed work on the track, lifts weights twice a week and does mixed martial arts sometimes sparring with men.

“Sure I can take a hit,” she said with a smile. “But it’s not cage fighting, the idea is to get a workout.”

Mike Wardian, 39, from Alexandria, Va., is one of the most relentlessly focused and productive ultra runners on the planet. Mike won the men’s race in 16:27.

Mike is coming off 80K races in Costa Rica and Ecuador and has thrown in a couple of 2:30 marathons.

“I’ve been injured over the last year with five stress fractures and five hernias,” said Mike, a vegetarian who is 6 feet tall and weighs 139 pounds.

Lillian McCormick, 24, of Rehoboth was second in the women’s race in 19:43. Lillian is on her way to the Scripps Institute to pursue a Ph. D in marine biology.

Cindy Conant, 52, of Kensington, Md., and Rehoboth was third in 19:52, followed by Abby Andrews, 30, 21:01; Meryl Ludwig, 47, 21:09; and Cheryl Connors, 36, in 21:20.

Following Wardian across the finish line were Mike Digennaro, 16:58; William Hanley, 16:59; Joey Hawley, 17:00; and Sean Ryan, 17:11.