Mile event sees 120 runners honor the late Maggie Browne

Last Friday night, Aug. 12, the name “Maggie’s Mile 2022” lit up the Cape scoreboard as 120 runners and walkers turned out for the second Maggie’s Mile. The race was set up by the Seashore Striders and the Cape girls’ track & field team to honor the late student-athlete Maggie Browne. Maggie died in an accident just over a year ago and in her name a scholarship was set up which was presented in June to Penn State-bound Elizabeth Melson.

For the Maggie’s Mile event, eight races were set up by age group, and Manning Bean (3:38) and Kaiden Gaulden (3:29) won the 8 & under 800-meter event. Shiloh O’Grady (6:35) and Ethan Thompson (6:04) won the youth 10-12 race, while Myranda Beebe (6:30) and Ryan Baker (5:01) won the teen race. Mag Manning (6:05) and Sam Hete (5:12) won the open race, while Amy Kuhlman (9:32) and Gavin Furlong (5:57) won the masters race. Tanya Karaman (7:20) and Patrick Beebe (6:10) won the grand masters, and Mary Kessler (7:59) and Tim Young (6:20) won the ultra grand masters race.

The final contest of the night was the elite race, won by Sussex Academy’s Katya Geyer in a time of 5:53, with Cape’s Katie Kuhlman second in 5:57 and Sadie Tunnell third in 6:07.

On the male elite side, Colorado State’s Jake Bamforth, a Sussex Tech graduate, won in a time of 4:36, while Cape’s Liam O’Donnell was second in 4:39. Cape graduate Lance Kauffman was third in 4:57, followed by Caleb Bradley in fourth in 4:57.

One of the highlights of the evening was the presentation of a football helmet signed by the Cape gridiron team members to Maggie’s mother Monica Browne just before the teen race took off. The football team then walked the mile with their first-year coach Mike Frederick.

It was another great event in the Cape community.

Run for JJ 5K

The 11th and final event in the popular Seashore Strider Championship Series was the 25th Run for JJ 5K, held Aug. 14, on the same course where the Delaware State Male 5K record time was set. In 2007, the record of 13:52 was established by Nelson Kiplagat of Kenya in a race that found two Kenyans and two Ethiopians together at the two-mile mark. A final mile in 4:25 allowed Kiplagat to pull away, crossing the line and setting the standard that still holds to this day. This year, 150 runners raced from the starting line, with Devon Fogel of Whitehall, Pa., coming home first in a time of 16:56, while on the female side it was a race separated by one-tenth of a second. Carly Jornlin of Doylestown, Pa., came from behind to cross the line in 19:55.5 and edge Katie Latimer of Barrington, N.J. who crossed in 19:55.6 gun time. It was the closest overall female race finish in the local history of chip timing.

Race note: Joey Andrisani of Wilmington is enjoying his finest summer, as he set a PR at the Paws Race and ran 17:14 at the JJ Run.

Summer series all-11 list

Ten runners in the Seashore Strider Summer Racing Series have completed all 11 races. Congratulations to the following: Marian Dowling, Cheryl Justison, Mary Kessler, Eugenija King, Sheila Young, Caleb Bradley, John Dowling, John Walters, Jules Woodall, Tim Young. Summer Series results can be found at www.seashorestriders.com.

Fire Fightin’ 5K

The 8th annual Fire Fightin’ 5K to benefit the Rehoboth Beach Volunteer Fire Company will be held this Sunday, Aug. 21, from Rehoboth Fire Station 1 beginning at 8 a.m. Registration remains open at www.seashorestriders.com. There will be a kids’ dash just before the 5K start which will take runners to the Boardwalk and back. Packet pickup will take place from 4 to 6 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 20, at the fire station, 219 Rehoboth Ave.