Field of 330 takes part in Run for J.J. Memorial 5K
This past Sunday morning at 6:30 a.m. I sat in the lobby of the Best Western Hotel in Sternam, Mass., with two large-screen computers, one logged into my timing software and the other logged into my registration software, a cellphone, and a iPad as I monitored the progress of the Run for JJ 5K in Rehoboth Beach. I flew to Boston on Saturday morning to attend a family wedding the evening before and was returning to Delaware on Sunday afternoon. I was able to see the event progress from setup to registration to the start to the finish to the results to the post-race ceremony in a three-hour window of time. The current technology is so amazing that I was able to do all I did and help out with the event without physically being there.
The event hosted 330 participants on a cool morning with light rain with Greg Laraia, 23, of Valley Cottage, N.Y., capturing the overall male championship in 17:06 and Jennifer Woods, 40, of Metuchen, N.J., capturing the overall female championship in 19:24. Mike Sewell, 45, of Camden Wyoming won the male masters in 19:10, while Mardiny Ung, 47, of Elizabethtown, Pa., won the female masters in 23:03.
Grotto Pizza hosted a great post-race breakfast on the Boardwalk, while Stuart Kingston presented special awards to the top five male and female finishers and the top male and female masters finishers.
Robert Hughes of Rehoboth Beach won the Clydesdale championship in 22:45, while Michelle Hayes of Silver Spring, Md., won the Filly championship in 28:22.
A shout out goes out to my team of Dr. Lee Masser, Rich Tikiob, Derek Shockro, Enos Benbow, Fran Donaway, Rick Hundley, Emily Ritter, Jane Boyd, Roxy Castillo, Joey Kwit, Dave Ritter, John Yanacek, and Alberto Castillo.
Boyd tackling 240-mile run
Cape graduate and former Seashore Striders worker Jeremy Boyd of Raleigh, N.C., is tackling a challenge this September and raising money for two 9/11 charities by completing a 240-mile run from the Pentagon to Ground Zero to honor and support the victims, first responders, military and their families affected by 9/11. Jeremy has called his project Run to Never Forget. The charities, Tuesday’s Children and Special Operations Warrior Foundation, are accepting donations for the cause, and interested supporters can go to his webpage at runtoneverforget.org. I ran into Jeremy last week as he was training in Rehoboth Beach the day before he was driving the course to preview the route. Jeremy plans to run 60 miles a day for four straight days, with stops along the way at several fire departments which will support his cause along the way.
“My goal is to get people to stand and show their support,” said Boyd. “I would rather see a million people donate one dollar then one person donate a million. I would rather run through New York City toward Ground Zero not alone but with hundreds if not thousands of people joining me.”
Family cousin racing Rehoboth
Last Saturday evening, a cool thing happened among my large family circle as I was attending a wedding in Massachusetts. I reunited with my cousin Tricia Dowcett, who is now 43-year-old Tricia Dowcett-Bettencourt of Connecticut. The last time I saw Tricia was when she was 11 years old in 1982, 32 years ago. I followed Tricia through Facebook the last few years and knew that she had become a wife, a mother of two, and a runner, mostly focusing on trail running, mud runs, and off-road challenging courses. At the 2013 Traprock 50K, Tricia won the 17K portion of the race, topping the female field in 1:36:52 with a 15th-place finish. Tricia, who is an active member of the Connecticut Trail Runners and is beginning a youth cross-country program this fall similar to the Seashore Striders, also has a 4:03:58 to her credit from the 2003 Boston Marathon. A 50K trail run is in the plans this fall, but more importantly I was able to talk her into competing in our Rehoboth Marathon the first week in December in Rehoboth Beach. It will be great to direct the marathon with a relative in the field - good luck to cousin Tricia and her fall training - see you in December.
Upcoming Races
7:30 a.m., Saturday, Aug. 2, 31st Dam Mill 5K Run, Cupola Park, Millsboro. www.seashorestriders.com.
8 a.m., Sunday, Aug. 3, 12th Highway One Group 10K & 5K, Dewey Beach. www.races2run.com.
8 a.m., Saturday, Aug. 9, 6th SPCA Race for the Paws 5K Run, The Starboard, Dewey Beach. www.seashorestriders.com.
8 a.m., Sunday, Aug. 10, 5th Free to Breathe Lung Cancer 5K & 1 mile walk, Cape Henlopen High School, Lewes. www.seashorestriders.com.
8:10 a.m., Sunday, Aug. 10, 3rd Dewey Beach Buddy Run & Pancake Breakfast, Dewey Beach. www.races2run.com.
