The 36th Last Blast Prediction 5K will be held Saturday, Sept. 5, to wrap up the summer for the Seashore Striders. The Summer Series awards for all runners who qualified by completing five 5K runs and one five-miler will be presented. The overall series champion and masters series champion will also be recognized. A host of other special awards will be given out as well. This year tied the record of 128 runners and walkers completing the series.

The 36th year of the series is in the books as Lewes runner Tim Pagano, 40, was the overall champion in a combined time of 1:55:30.0, while Eve Hoffman, 39, of Washington, D.C., won another title in a combined time of 2:14:19.7. Hoffman won the 2025 title in 2:14:28, so how is that for consistency? Matt Sparacino of Harrington was two minutes faster than his 2025 overall win, but this time had to settle for the masters championship in 1:58:08.1, while Melissa Wiley, 40, of Ocean City, Md., celebrated her first year as a masters runner by winning the female masters title in a combined time of 2:18:58.7.

A record 27 participants completed all 10 races of the summer, while two runners – Debra Isser, 71, and Sparacino – were ranked National Class with an age grade of 87.13 and 80.87, respectively.

Another highlight of the series is the presentation of the series streak awards, which recognize runners who complete the series in consecutive years. Cathy Haut reached the 20-year mark, while Woody Disharoon and Jeff Evans reached 10 years. Nancy Brooks, Michael Mitchell, Mardiny Ung, Keiran Labarre, Jose Lukecart, John Blackford and Eugenija King all reached the five-year mark. Peter Tracey and Tim Bamforth reached 36 years for the series.  

Age-group champions

9U – Brantley Becker, 8, won in 3:32:35.0 and was the only series qualifier

10-13 – Deacon Odenwelder, 10, completed the series in 2:23:29.3, while Mackenzie Bean, 13, won the girls' side in 3:12:18.2

14-19 – Keiran Labarre, 15, won in 2:46:55.9, while Beau Krick, 16, won the male side in 2:43:33.3

20-24 – Arina Varrato, 20, won in 2:21:48.9, while Mike Gonzalez-Garcia, 22, won in 2:05:13.4

25-29 – Amberlie Rice, 27, captured the title in 3:35:39.2, while Eric Bartow, 28, won the male side in 2:38:59.5

30-34 – Elizabeth Rivera, 34, won in 2:47:41.7

35-39 – Angela Messick, 37, won in 2:31:30.7, while John Dearden, 37, won the male side in 2:27:32.1

40-44 – Strider volunteer Eugenija King, 43, won the group in 2:33:08.2, while Andy Gorlich, 41, won the male side in 2:01:37.2. He was only three minutes off the overall masters championship. This age group was one of the closest in history, as second place went to Martin Rodriguez, 44, in 2:01:43.9

45-49 – Jamie Hicks, 48, won the group to go along with her many masters titles as she combined for a series time of 2:24:43.6, while husband Robert made it a family affair by also winning the age group in 2:22:21.7. Jeff Evans was close behind in 2:22:59.5

50-54 – Jen Ward, 54, won the age group in 2:50:58.7, while Andrew Leitzke, 54, won the male side in 2:28:43.1

55-59 – Mardiny Ung, 59, claimed the title in 2:40:07.3, while Paul Timmons, 57, won the male side in 2:13:39.1

60-64 – Margaret Colvin, 64, won the group in 2:41:31.0, while longtime runner Leslie Wright, 63, won the male side in 2:47:02.1

65-69 – Lori Holdsworth, 65, won the age group in 2:47:34.2, while series statistician Tim Young, 66, won the male side in 2:30:43.4, less than six minutes ahead of Bill Holdsworth in 2:36:27

70-74 – Elite racer Debra Isser, 71, won the age group in 2:42:03.8, while Donald Cowie, 70, won the male side in 2:47:20.0.  Rich Tikiob was exactly one minute behind in 2:48:20

75-79 – Karen Levin won the age group in 3:56:29.4, while Douglas Repetti won the male side in 3:19:11.0

80 and over – Bernie Gallagher, 85, won the age group over Jack Noel, 87, with a time of 6:32:00.1

5K walk – Marian Dowling, 65, won the age group in 4:47:36.8, while Rick Day, 63, won the male side in 4:11:46.5.

The Prediction Race

The much-anticipated Last Blast Prediction 5K is set for 7:30 a.m., Saturday, Sept. 5. It's a unique race in that runners cannot use electronic devices, watches, earphones or headsets. It's just the runner and the pavement. The course will be correct at 3.11 miles with the proper directional arrows to keep all runners on track. There will be plenty of mile markers, but none will be correct. There will be two clocks at the finish, but neither will be correct. After crossing the finish line, the computer will take over and calculate the difference from a runner's predicted time and their actual time, then rank them from first to last. The top 20 receive awards. In 2023, Karen Levin won the title with a difference of 0.29 seconds, while 10th was 3.62 and 20th was 12.27 seconds. In 2024, Halper Stromberg won the title with a difference of 1.42 seconds, while 10th was 4.69 and 20th was 14.24. In 2025, Sheila Young won the title with a difference of 0.53 seconds. Young, who was 22nd in 2023 and 42nd in 2024, predicted 28:36 and crossed the line in 28:36.5 for the win.

Finish chute

One of the largest 5K races in downstate Delaware was held Thursday evening after the Cape Gazette's deadline at Delaware Tech in Georgetown benefitting veterans, first responders, military members and students. As of Wednesday night, the race had already attracted 550 participants. Much of the credit goes to organizer Janelle Shellabarger and her team at Delaware Tech.

The Lake Forest Invitational cross country meet will kick off the high school season Saturday, Sept. 12, at Killens Pond State Park.

Cape Henlopen will travel to the Unionville 2-Mile Bash Friday, Sept. 4, and will host a quad meet with Caesar Rodney, Saint Mark's and Sussex Central at 3:30 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 9, at Sandhill Fields in Georgetown. Sussex Academy will host a tri-meet with Delmar and Early School at Sandhill Fields strting at 3:30 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 8.