30th Last Blast Prediction Run won by Tim Young
Tim Young predicted his 5K time to be 22:58.0, then went out and ran 22:57.4 to win the 30th annual Last Blast Prediction Run Sept. 5 on the Grove Park course in downtown Rehoboth Beach. And to add strange to weird, Young’s front door is 100 yards from the starting line.
The top female predictor was Paulina Perkovich, who predicted 23:24.0 and ran 23:25.4.
Joey Andrisani had the fastest overall time of 17:18. Amanda Ballard, 15, had the fastest female race time in 21:35.
The top 9 placers by prediction ranged from 0.5 to 0.08.9 seconds.
Just 50 runners participated in the real-time race. The 2019 race had 151 runners.
According to the late George Sheehan’s book “Running and Being: The Total Experience,” the mind’s first step to self-awareness must be through the body. When in his 70s, Sheehan said if he fell out of an airplane, he’d fall at eight-and-a-half minutes per mile.
Experienced runner Rick Poppleton got to the finish line and stopped before crossing, saying he knew he ran faster than he predicted. He waited awhile, then crossed in 26:08 – he was 8 seconds slower than predicted.
The two octogenarians in the race, Jack Noel, 81, and Paul Kiefer, 80, were both two minutes off their predicted time, with Noel running faster and Kiefer running slower.
Sophia Ruffcorn, 8, predicted 34:20.0 and ran 34:35.2.
A complete listing of results for anyone pursuing a virtual PhD in statistical analysis as it relates to self-awareness can be found at www.seashorestriders.com.
