Cape, Striders open season at Lake Forest Invitational

The 62nd annual Lake Forest Cross Country Festival will be held Saturday, Sept. 7, beginning at 10 a.m., at Killens Pond State Park in Felton. The site is the home of the Henlopen Conference Championships and the DIAA State Championship in early November. A total of 12 races will be offered for all levels, and on average, there have been 1,600 to 2,000 runners competing. The Cape Vikings will kick off their season with a varsity girls’ team of Olivia Brozefsky, Lindsay Rambo, Caroline Maull, Mia Nuebling, Elizabeth Melson, Katie Kuhlman and Taylor Johnson. Five of the seven runners have national cross country experience with the Seashore Striders and have more years of cross country running on their resume than most coaches. The Cape boys’ team will go with the following on the varsity starting line: Ethan Edery, Lance Kauffman, Daniel Adili-Khams, Sam Epstein, Alan Howard, Hunter Jones and Julian Callaway.

Seashore Striders XC

The young Seashore Striders have started practice at Cape Henlopen State Park for the program’s 29th season with more than 35 athletes from 4 to 14 years old. A few of the older middle school runners will compete this Saturday at the Lake Forest Invitational on the 2.1-mile Killens Pond course. The Striders will host an invitational this season at a site to be determined, and will host the regional championships before heading to their 29th consecutive national championship.

Cannonball 5K Run

The 16th annual Cannonball 5K Run will be held at 8:30 a.m., Sunday, Sept. 8, at the Lewes Historical Society complex at the end of Second Street in Lewes. Named The Most Beautiful Race in Delaware, the route is designed to take a tour of historic Lewes. The course includes breathtaking scenery along Pilottown Road and views of the Great Marsh, Shipcarpenter Square, Second Street, and the Lewes-Rehoboth Canal. Unique cannonball awards will be given to all five-year age-group winners. Register at www.seashorestriders.com.

Dorian Bike Rodeo

As Floridians buckled down this week for Hurricane Dorian, my oldest son Jake buckled his clip-on bike shoes and headed out for what I am calling his Dorian Bike Rodeo. Taking advantage of the Florida State of Emergency with no school Monday-Wednesday of this past week, Jake drove to Northern Georgia for three days of biking with some of the top bikers from the Southeast. Day 1 was a 105-mile ride on the 6-Gap Century course in Athens, Ga. The course took in 11,500 feet of elevation and is named because of the six major climbs on the course. “Some of the climbs are named, with the hardest being Hog Pen Gap and another being Wolf Pen Gap,” said Jake. About 20,000 bikers have tackled the Hog Pen, which is a seven-mile climb which most bikers complete in about 60 minutes, according to Strava. Jake completed the climb in 38 minutes, well off the 29-minute record, but it moved him to the top 300 all-time. “The climb was 1,800 feet of elevation, and I averaged 11 mph,” commented Jake. “There is one section that they call ‘The Wall,’ which is a 22 percent grade and you have to go back and forth like a snake to get up it. It was incredible.”

Day 2 found him and a former USF Cycling Team member tackling what is called Brasstown. This climb is straight up, straight down and just under three miles, with 1,400 feet of elevation and a 10.5 percent grade. Climbing Brasstown at a speed of 6.8 mph is much different from his downhill speed of 50-plus mph. Day 2 was 50 miles and 6,700 feet of elevation.

Day 3 was an easier ride in Athens of 40 miles and 2,000 feet of elevation, giving him a three-day total of 195 miles and 22,000 feet of elevation, with only one flat tire on the trip.  

Jake will compete in the Pinellas Parks Circuit Race this Sunday in the Cat 5 Division. The race is 30 miles – 15 laps of a two-mile course.  

Most students likely took advantage of the three-day break to relax, while my student got out of town and did his homework on his bike!