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Rehoboth Seashore Marathon handles 2,000 athletes on perfect day for running

December 8, 2013

Justin Gillette won the Rehoboth Beach Seashore Marathon Dec. 7, clocking a 2:36 and besting 805 following runners.

Chandler Rainey was the first woman to finish, in 3:13.

A total of 17 runners - all male - ran under the three-hour mark, while 322 in the field ran under four hours.

The digital clock over Gillette’s left shoulder read 2:96, which prompted race director Tim Bamforth to borrow a line from Peter Sellers, “That’s not my clock.”

A cool 1,200 runners elected to do the half marathon.

Steve Sinko, 37, former Saint Mark’s star, was first to finish the half marathon, in 1:13 followed by Mike Digennaro, 35, in 1:18.

Heather Leiggi, 38, from Bryn Mawr, Pa. was the first woman to complete the half marathon, in 1:28.

The event was professionally timed by Lin-Mark Sports. Expanded results and age-group winners can easily be found by typing that name in the browser window.

The field of 2,000 enjoyed almost perfect weather with no rain and annoying but bearable windy conditions. There were several runners going for 50 marathons in 50 states, with one achieving that goal in Rehoboth.

There were also a number of cancer survivors and others fighting back from wobbles in their personal lives. It is almost unheard of for a runner who toes the starting line not to finish, and the assistance out on the course, from volunteers to runners' stopping to help each other is amazing.

A day after the race Tim Bamforth said, “Everything went off without a hitch or glitch and so far not a complaint from a homeowner, so I hope it stays that way.”

Notes: Unofficially, the Rehoboth Marathon generates about $215,000 from entry fees, as the full marathon costs $120 to enter while the half marathon costs $100.

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