Ed Dean 4-Miler & Sundance Sashay around the corner
The sixth Ed Dean 4 Miler will take off at 8 a.m., Saturday, Aug. 23, from Magnolia’s Seafood Bar & Grill Restaurant in remembrance of Bethany Beach Patrol's Ed Dean. The Ed Dean Memorial Scholarship, benefiting a member of BBP, is presented in his memory. Dean was captain of the Bethany Beach Patrol, a teacher and coach at Sussex Central High School and an administrator in Lake Forest School District and Somerset County Public Schools. The scholarship was founded after his untimely passing in June 2006. The event will loop Fresh Pond State Park, loaded with beautiful trails through the woods that not many people even know about. Enos Benbow of Georgetown won last year’s event averaging a 5:52 pace a mile to win the race in 23:28. Mike Sewell of Camden was nearly two minutes back timed in 25:13 to win the masters, while Blake Hundley, 11, ran 25:16 to take third overall. Masters runner Kimberly Geyer of Millersville ran 31:39 to win last year’s overall title on the female side, while Colleen Calhoun of Frankford was second in 33:38. Lorrainne McDermott won the masters in a time of 33:44. Go to www.seashorestriders.com to register for the event.
5th Sundance Land & Sea
Four different events and many different costumes, colors, shapes, and sizes are on tap for the 5th Sundance Land & Sea 5K, Biathlon, Half- Mile swim, and 1 Mile Walk to be held starting at 7:30 a.m., Sunday, Aug. 24. Last year, even the water table consisted of a rainbow of colors for athletes to choose to hydrate from after their 5K run in the Nation's Summer Capital.
When swimmers charged the Atlantic in last year's event, the morning water was rougher than the norm. “These swimmers should be proud of themselves,” said RBP Captain Kent Buckson, who managed the swim. “This was a tough swim today.”
Mike Sewell captured the 5K in 17:39, while Brandt Chi was runner-up and masters champ in 18:05. Joey Andrisani of Wilmington ran 18:34 to wrap up the top three finishers. Always-tough Meryl Ludwig, 47, won the female title in 20:14; well-known local runner Marybeth Evans won the masters in 21:41. The post-race party took place at CAMP Rehoboth. It is always one of the favorite celebrations of the summer. Don’t miss the action at the Sundance Land & Sea Event.
Cross Country
The high school cross country season is here, with practice beginning Friday, Aug. 15. Runners from up and down the state will put their summer mileage to the test and see what kind of shape they are in during preseason workouts. It looks like the Vikings, under the leadership of veteran George Pepper, will return a strong girls' team where they have four returning, having graduated three from the program. On the boys' side, the Vikings graduated four seniors on the team and will look to rebuild with three returning finishers.
Sussex Tech returns five of their top seven from last season on both boys' and girls' squads.
Lake Invite
The Lake Forest Invitational will kick off the high school cross country season Saturday, Sept. 6, at Killens Pond State Park in Felton. The meet was started long ago by the late Jim Blades and will again be hosted by Lake Forest High School, led by new head coach Eric Payne, a longtime coach in the conference. Ray Parker of Tri-Sports Events will manage the meet this year. There will be varsity, JV, and third-team races all over the place in addition to a middle school open event in the middle of the day attracting the youth of the future.
The meet will be the opener for the Seashore Striders Cross Country Program, beginning its 24th year in Lewes. The Seashore Striders cross country team will begin practice from 4 to 5:30 p.m., Tuesday, Aug. 26, at Fort Miles in Cape Henlopen State Park. Interested new runners should email tim@seashorestrider.com, and buy a park pass now. Good luck to all runners this season.
Marathon Update
The RBRC Seashore Marathon is 16 weeks away and perfect to still train for the half or the full distance that will take off from the Bandstand at 7 a.m., Saturday, Dec. 6. The Seashore Striders have training programs available for the half marathon; if interested, email tim@seashorestrider.com. The race, which sold out last year at 2,000 runners, will take in the new Gordons Pond Trail, Cape Henlopen State Park, Lewes Beach, Junction & Breakwater Trail, and the Nation’s Summer Capital of Rehoboth Beach. According to my partner, Marybeth Evans, as of this week over 1,000 runners are registered for the event - 621 in the half marathon and 449 in the full marathon, which is up 40 percent from last year.
Upcoming races
8 a.m., Saturday, Aug. 16, Inaugural BreastFest 5K, The Bottle & Cork, Dewey Beach, www.races2run.com.
8:15 a.m., Sunday, Aug. 17, 6th Greene Turtle 5K & 10K for MS, Greene Turtle, Lewes, www.races2run.com.
