Furiously fast times at Dewey Beach Patrol 5K/10K races

The Dewey Beach Patrol Woolworth Double five and dime race contested July 21 was an oddity from the jump, and that’s before a deluge soaked the streets to produce freshwater puddles.

A common start for a combined 280 runners saw the three fastest guys in town go to the front and head out for the longer 10K distance.

Daniel Kemoi, 31, and Panuel Mkungo, 21, Kenyans living in Elkton, Md., part of an Elite Athletes program, both shattered the course record for the 10K, with Kemoi running 29:55 (a 4:49 mile pace) and Mkungo second in 30:31 (4:55 pace).

Will Rehrig, a 25-year-old teacher from St. Andrew’s who has been tearing up 5Ks this summer, elected to chase the competition over the 10K distance. Rehrig placed third in a respectable time of 35:49.   

“I learned why I don’t run 10Ks very often,” Rehrig said with a smile, adding, “Running can be humbling for all athletes, but it’s fun to get out there against great competition. All the runners compete against themselves every race, and I’m no different.”

Kemoi and Mkungo ran south after their race to tack on more milage before the ride back to Elkton. A total of 133 runners chose the 10K distance.

Allison Myers, 16, from Dallastown, Pa., was the overall women’s winner in 44:08. Molly Benner, 27, of Philly, was second in 45:44.

Jimmy Rubin, 46, was overall male masters champion in 41:21. Mardiny Ung was overall female masters champion in 47:10.   

The 5K race was highlighted by a group of girlfriends from Charlottesville, Va., who wore matching T-shirts. They took four of the top 14 places, including first overall and first in women’s masters.

Rachel Booth, 37, won the overall race in 18:01. Natalie Kreitzer, 31, was fourth overall in 18:48; Becky Keller, 39, took 10th in 20:31, and Jennifer Hochrein, 48, was first masters for women in 21:08.

Dylan Sebek, 15, was second overall and first male finisher in 18:28. Bill Faquhar was third overall and masters champion in 18:39.

Notes: Kemoi won the 39th annual Broad Street 10-Mile Run on a breezy Sunday morning May 6 in 45:43.42 seconds. There were 40,000 runners in the Broad Street Run. Hochrein is the sister-in-law of Shields Elementary School teacher Jen Hochrein. Eric and Todd are brothers, both married to a Jen. A third Jen Hochrein is married to a first cousin named Dan.