Masters runner Mike Sewell chased Paul Montini while Olivia Montini tried to run him down. Sewell is a tenacious trainer and pace pusher who doesn’t take wide turns; he battles for position and time in every race.
Paul Montini, 52, ran 18:49 to hold off Sewell, 51, in 19:15 for the masters title at the Pumpkin Pie 5K Nov. 29 at Cape Henlopen State Park. Olivia Montini, 16, who runs for Penn Charter in Philly, closed in 19:18 to capture the overall women’s title.
The live race attracted 134 finishers, with the top 12 runners breaking 20 minutes.
Colten Morris, 19, was the overall winner in 16:28. He was followed by Jake Bamforth in 16:36, Jake Mundok in 17:34, Steven Eshelman in 18:47 and Quinn Serfass in 18:47.
The top five runners on the women’s leaderboard following Montini were masters winner Lisa Rini in 21:34, Kelsey Oliphant in 21:49, Alexis Oliphant in 21:49, Jenny Seth in 22:09 and Aggie Hoover in 22:24.
Michelle Karsnitz flashed five fingers for five months pregnant and ran 22:40.
Kai Mundok, 8, finished in 23:23, holding off Nolan Furlong, 7, in 23:29 to capture the 9-and-under title. The boys are friends and share the same birthday one year apart. There were six Mundoks in the race and four Furlongs. In fact, during a rare holiday season in-person race, most runners were related to at least one other person there.
Grace McCloskey, 6, with a time of 32:44 just edged Nora Furlong, 5, in 33:30 for the 9-and-under female title.
Gavin Furlong, 38, won the 30-38 male title in 19:56.
Mike Wardian, 46, a world-renowned ultra runner coming off an injury, cruised to a time of 19:59 to win the 40-49 age group.
The 50-59 male age group, always the most competitive, saw a top 5 of Sewell, John Costello in 19:37, Paul Timmons in 20:57, Lance Fargo in 20:59 and Matt Mundok in 24:20.
Lori and Bill Holdsworth completed the “lunch lady double” as Lori (Beacon) won the 50-59 female race in 24:22 and Bill (Cape) won the 60-69 male title in 21:13.
Kevin Smith, a former Joe Biden aide who doesn’t have a broken foot, ran 29:35 to capture the male 70-79 category.
Anne Strieby, 84, carried a cane that never touched the ground and won the female 80-and-over in 1:19.
“I just carry it to help me get up in case I fall down,” Anne said.