Brian Fuller was first to Dewey Beach Liquors followed by 300 bipeds and 50 quadrupeds at the 14th annual Race for the Paws 5K and 1-Mile Walk. They all turned left, but Brian was gone like a whippet on a wild rabbit.
Fuller, a 36-year-old 2009 Penn State graduate, had a smile on his face as he took to the front – the reason is, he knows he’s not coming back.
Fuller owns the Northbeach course record in four different age groups: 19-24 (15:21) in 2008, 25-29 (15:21) in 2012, 30-34 (15:10) in 2019 and 35-39 (15:06) in 2021.
The Mechanicsburg, Pa., resident, who hit the finish in 15:46 this year, has not lost a race in Dewey since 2004. His brothers Kevin and Mark also run, as do their wives, and everyone is fast. There were no Fuller dogs in Saturday's race; they would only slow the boys down unless unleashed.
Dylan Smiley, 24, was second in 16:16, followed by Joey Andrisani, 39, who ran a personal best 16:38. Completing the top 10 list were Ian Cain, 16, 17:24; David Carillo, 16, 17:27; Mark Fuller, 31, 17:40; Josh Breighner, 26, 18:30; Lance Kauffman, 19, 18:52; masters winner Matt Spacacino, 44, 18:57; and Nick Ronan, 24, 19:15.
Genevieve Dibari, 22, placed 11th and was the overall women's winner in 19:17. Completing the top women’s leaderboard were Katie Fuller, 30, 20:02; Maria Dibari, 18, 20:36; Eve Hoffman, 36, 20:52, and Sarah Richards, 37, 21:08.
Susan Dunn, 45, won the women’s masters race in 22:47.
Notables - Mary Kessler, 73, of Harbeson set an age-group course record of 25:50. The state age-group record is 25:09. Joann Sczepkowski, 76, ran 30:34 to win her age group.