The 35th Seashore Striders Summer Racing Series will wrap up Saturday, Aug. 30, at Grove Park in Rehoboth Beach with the Prediction 5K followed by the series awards presentation. The top five finishers in 16 age groups, as well as all qualifiers, will receive awards. The overall and masters winners, and the most improved and most consistent runners, will be awarded, and the Hank Brittingham Volunteer of the Year Award winner will be announced. All participants who qualified for the series are encouraged to attend to pick up their end-of-the-series award. The Prediction 5K will begin at 7:30 a.m. No watches or devices will be allowed, and the course will not have any mile markers. The top 20 closest to their predicted time are the winners. It’s a fun race where everyone can be a winner.
September is busy
The 12th annual Run, White & Blue 5K will be held at Delaware Tech in Georgetown beginning at 6 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 4. This is an evening event that should be on your local bucket list, as it benefits first responders and military personnel. A two-loop course is fast and flat for the 5K, with the finish line decorated with emergency vehicles. Did I mention plenty of food, drinks and ice cream at the post-race party? More than 600 people took part at the 2024 event, so register early.
The 21st annual Cannonball 5K Run will be held at the Historic Lewes complex beginning at 8:30 a.m., Sunday, Sept. 7. The event is known for being the “most beautiful race course in Delaware.” In the first quarter-mile of the race, participants will pass the historic Cannonball House. Speaking of cannonballs, the winner of each age group will also receive a custom cannonball award.
The second annual 5K Walk 4 Prostate Cancer will take off from the Hawk Watch of Cape Henlopen State Park beginning at 10 a.m., Saturday, Sept. 13. CoastTV Chief Meteorologist Paul Williams will serve as the grand marshal. Williams is a prostate cancer survivor who is committed to promoting a comprehensive lifestyle regimen that will help men prevent a diagnosis or recover following treatment for prostate cancer. There will be free, non-invasive prostate-specific antigen testing on site.
The second annual Harvest Hustle 5K and 1K Fun Walk is set for 9 a.m., Saturday, Sept. 20, at the fishing pier in Cape Henlopen State Park. Lace up your shoes, gather your friends and family and hit the pavement for a community event with heart. Every step you take supports the mission of empowering older adults to live at home independently for as long as possible.
Always a fun race, the 10th annual Paradise Grill Stop, Drop & Run 5K will be held in Long Neck at 10 a.m., Sunday, Sept. 21. There are two courses to choose from, with both coming together at the 2.6-mile mark of the course. Proceeds go to the Indian River Volunteer Fire Company.
One of the largest events in the state will finish off the busy month of September, as the 18th annual Dogfish Dash 3.8-mile off-centered race will be held in Milton at 9 a.m., Sunday, Sept. 28. Participants must pick up packets at one of the two scheduled times – Wednesday, Sept. 24 in Rehoboth or Saturday, Sept. 27 in Milton. There is no race-day pickup for this event.
Bottle & Cork 10-Miler & 5K
Races2Run will produce the 49th annual Bottle & Cork 10-Miler & 5K, named after Gary P. Lister, Saturday, Sept. 6, beginning in Dewey Beach and making its way through Rehoboth Beach and back. The out-of-state runners love running down the Boardwalk along the ocean, as many tell me it is their favorite section of the race. This year’s event will benefit Rotary Club 41. The 10-miler will start at 7:30 a.m., while the 5K will start 10 minutes later. To register, go to races2run.com.
Cross country
Three Henlopen Conference runners are on the boys’ side of the roster for the Salisbury Seagulls. Austen Cave is a senior out of Delmar, while Justin Friscia is a sophomore out of Sussex Academy and Landon Lewicki is a senior out of Dover. There are no Henlopen Conference girls on the roster. Cape graduate Katie Kuhlman is the only girl from the Henlopen Conference on the University of Delaware’s cross country roster, as she will begin her junior, hopefully injury-free, season. Cape’s Ryan Baker will be racing for Lehigh University this fall as a junior. High school coaches are encouraged to send me results of their graduates so we can keep the public informed on their race results.
Finish chute
My son Jake is in his second year as the only coach for the Highland High School and Middle School cross country programs in a school of 300 students in a small town of Alt, Colo., just east of Fort Collins. Locally here in Sussex County, Cape has the highest number of coaches in the conference and possibly state with five and a volunteer. Caesar Rodney has a large staff as well with four coaches and four volunteers for the program. There do not seem to be as many cross country coaches with the upstate teams. For example, powerhouse Sallies has two coaches, while powerhouse Padua has three coaches. When looking at the websites4sports site, which shows each team’s schedule, roster and coaching staff, the average number of coaches in Delaware is two to three.
