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Pumpkin Pie 5K at Grove Park won by Swain and James

Merrecia James training to make Jamaican Olympic team in 800 meters
A thundering herd rounds the bend at the start of the Pumpkin Pie 5K. BY DAVE FREDERICK
November 29, 2015
Another pheasant and pleasant Saturday morning. BY DAVE FREDERICK
Kelly Snow runs her 30th race following her 35th birthday in April, going for 35. BY DAVE FREDERICK
Stuart Ferguson, 43, of Wayne, Pa., brings a plastic water bottle to the shores of Rehoboth. Stuart is one big pilgrim. BY DAVE FREDERICK
Winner Dan Swain runs the course in 15:58. BY DAVE FREDERICK
Joey Andrisani, 33, of Wilmington runs 17:52 for fifth place. BY DAVE FREDERICK
Merrecia James, 29, wins the women's race in 18:06. She is hoping to make the Jamaican Olympic team. The 800-meter trials are in June. She has run 2:04. BY DAVE FREDERICK
Olivia Montini, 11, runs 22:12. BY DAVE FREDERICK
Minister Tom Lank, 40, of Milton lives in Philly. He has his own church in Jersey, is related to Rookery Gold course, but enough already. BY DAVE FREDERICK
Mark Hudson is a 1979 Cape grad and was a vaulter on the 1978 state championship team. His nickname is Cannonball. He's a funny guy with and without the pole. BY DAVE FREDERICK
Zach Tunick, 11, and Paul Kiefer, 75, battle toward the finish line in 31:52. Zach ran faster because he crossed the starting line later - it's a chip timing thing. BY DAVE FREDERICK

The 6th annual Huffin’ for Pumpkin Pie 5K & 1-Mile Walk attracted 368 competitors Nov. 28 to the Grove Park race course in Rehoboth.

Dan Swain, 24, a former St. Mary’s runner who now runs for the Bryn Mawr Track Club on the Philadelphia Main Line, torched the field in 15:59.

"I’ve been training this week on a diet of pie and cookies,” Swain joked. “I usually train from 70 to 90 miles a week and I’m hoping to break 2:30 at Boston this year. My personal best is 2:31."

The women’s race was won by 29-year-old Merrecia James of Bethany Beach by way of Jamaica in a time of 18:07. The former UMES runner is in training for the Olympic trials this June, where she hopes to run 2:00 in the 800 meters and make the Jamaican track team. When asked if she knew Usain Bolt, she smiled, "Yes, I know him. We are a small country. Everyone person in track knows everyone else.”

Merrecia is running a marathon Dec. 5, but not the Rehoboth Marathon, rather the Reggae Marathon in Jamaica. The event is organized by the Jamdammers Running Club of Kingston.

The Rehoboth Marathon - half and full - is slated for Saturday, Dec. 5, starting at 7 a.m. Reggae on the iPod is a good way to relax and run fast.

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