Cross country in the air as Ed Dean Trail Run goes off Saturday

This Saturday morning will be the annual Ed Dean 4-Mile Trail Run, and it’s a great opportunity for high school cross country runners to get a trail run in as they prep for their fall season. The event will start at 8 a.m. from the old Harris Teeter grocery store at the corner of Fred Hudson and Cedar Neck roads in Ocean View. The course goes through beautiful Fresh Pond, where the miles of trails and shade cannot be beat.  Go to www.seashorestriders.com for more race information.

The high school cross country season will kick off Saturday, Sept. 10, at the Lake Forest Invitational.

Striders XC - Are you ready?

Since the very first cross country season in 1990, the Seashore Striders have been training at Cape Henlopen State Park two days a week with young runners from the ages of 7 and 8 years old through high school. That very first season, we only had two high school girls on the team and then doubled it a year later with four members. Last year, we consistently had close to 50 runners at practice and took more than 30 qualifiers to the National Cross Country Championships in Kentucky - our 25th national trip in a row. This year’s season will officially begin Tuesday, Sept. 6, at Cape Henlopen State Park, meeting in the area of Fort Miles and the tower at 4 p.m. Get your state park car sticker now and you will be set for all the state parks we travel to in Delaware. Interested new runners should email me at tim@seashorestriders.com so we will know to expect you.  

Centrowitz wins gold

Matt Centrowitz of the USA crossed the finish line of the Olympic 1,500 meters Aug. 20, becoming the first American to win the metric mile since 1908. The look on his face was one of disbelief.

His time, 3:50, was the slowest winning time since 1932 and much slower than his trials win of 3:34 and his first two Olympic rounds, both in 3:39.

I know that at the professional level the races turn into stagey affairs and many times it becomes a sit-and-kick race, but 1:06 at 400 meters and 2:16 at 800 meters for professionals? I have nearly had Beacon Middle School boys run that fast, which is crazy to think like that.

Then with 600 meters to go, everyone started to race but by then it’s too late because now the field was dealing with a young guy who just warmed up with 900 meters and now is ready to race a 600. Meet Matt Centrowitz of the Oregon Project, coached by the great Alburto Salazar who no one can beat in a sprint to the finish. Matt held everyone off and blazed the final lap in 50 seconds - the same time that Cape’s Kai Maull won the state championship in at the 1997 indoor 400 meters.

Matt went 2:16 for the first 800 meters and came back with a 1:50 - just eight seconds off what the time was for the winning 800 meters in Rio.

Matt was racing and you could nearly see a smile on his face as he was thinking to himself, “What are these guys doing? Are they just going to hand me this gold medal?”

Matt’s father, Matt Sr., is a former Olympian himself at 5,000 meters, and he was going crazy in the stands as he and his family could not believe their eyes watching Matt sprint to the finish for the win. It was a 1,500-meter race I will never forget and one that will be remembered as the one where the young American stole the gold medal from the rest of the world.

Race note - The Centrowitz family from Maryland used to vacation in Rehoboth Beach, and Matt and his sister used to compete in the Run for JJ 5K in the event’s early years. Matt ran in the 9 & under age group and actually did not win his division, as Seashore Strider Evan Mock won the age group in just over 20 minutes. Matt attended Broadneck High School, the same school where Bruce Springer coached girls’ basketball for many years. Bruce Springer owned Timeout Sports in Rehoboth Beach, a store on Rehoboth Avenue and a store at the Rehoboth Mall. Timeout Sports, the small running store across from the fire station, was like Cheers. It was where everyone knows your name.

I worked for Springer up until the end of Timeout Sports in the early ‘90s, when we could not compete with the new outlet stores. During the last two years, I sold the remaining stock of the store out of the back of my Nissan pickup on Queen Street. People in Rehoboth would follow my truck around until it stopped and then sit on the tailgate and try on running shoes. I could pull up to the Rehoboth basketball courts and sell five classic black and red Nike Air Jordans in minutes. It was true cash and carry, and we didn’t take credit cards!

Upcoming races

Saturday, Aug. 27 - Eighth Ed Dean 4-Miler, 8 a.m., Ocean View, www.seashorestriders.com

Sunday, Aug. 28 - Seventh Sundance Land & Sea 5K and Biathlon, 8 a.m., Rehoboth Beach, www.seashorestriders.com

Thursday, Sept. 1 - Third Run, White & Blue 5K, 6 p.m., Delaware Technical Community College, Georgetown, www.seashorestriders.com

Saturday, Sept. 3 - 26th Last Blast Prediction 5K, 8 a.m., Rehoboth Beach, www.seashorestriders.com

Sunday, Sept. 4 - Fourth Summer’s End 5K, 8 a.m., Dewey Beach, www.races2run.com

Monday, Sept. 5 - Inaugural Rylie’s Dog Days of Summer 5K, 8 a.m., Lewes, www.races2run.com.