Rehoboth Marathon set to step off this weekend

Friday and Saturday this weekend will seem like a summer day in the Nation’s Summer Capital, as the 14th annual Rehoboth Beach Marathon and Half Marathon will kick off at 7 a.m., Saturday, Dec. 4, from the Rehoboth Beach Bandstand. Some 900 full marathoners and 1,900 half-marathoners will toe the line for the event. Hotels are full, restaurants will be hopping and thousands of folks will be running the 26.2- and 13.1-mile distances, raising money for several nonprofit charities that the Rehoboth Beach Running Company and Seashore Striders support.

The course will slightly change this year, as it will follow Rehoboth Avenue off the Bandstand starting line to State Road and run through the Country Club Estates development and along Silver Lake to the south end of the Boardwalk on Queen Street and the 2-mile mark. The addition of the Boardwalk along the Atlantic Ocean was one course change I felt runners from many states would enjoy. The course makes its way north to North Shores and into Cape Henlopen State Park at Gordons Pond and the 4.5-mile water stop. From this point the race splits, with the marathon heading north to Lewes and the half heading back toward Rehoboth.

Marathon course

The marathon will then take in an out-and-back 13.1 miles going north on the Gordons Pond Trail past Herring Point, the Biden Center and Fort Miles, and remain on the trail and exit the park at the west side of Cape Henlopen Drive on the new trail. The runners will remain on the trail to the turnaround just before Freeman Highway and across from the Cape May-Lewes Ferry. After the turnaround, the course will follow the same route back to Gordons Pond just past the 17-mile mark. From this point, the marathon will follow the half-marathon course.

Half marathon

This course takes runners back toward Rehoboth Beach on Ocean Drive and onto Henlopen Avenue for a straight fast-and-flat mile to Grove Park. At the Grove, the course takes runners onto the trail along the canal and onto Rehoboth Avenue Extended up to Canal Crossing Road and Hebron Road. The course heads toward the Junction & Breakwater Trail, crossing over Holland Glade Road and the eight-mile mark for the half and the 21-mile mark for the full. Once on the trail, the course goes out and back to the Wolfe Neck turnaround and Flag City. On the return, the course crosses Holland Glade Road on the south trail closer to Epworth Church and goes through the Wizard of Oz section on the wooded trail exiting behind the car wash on Hebron Road. Once on Hebron, it goes back to Canal Crossing Road and onto Rehoboth Avenue Extended, through Grove Park and onto Henlopen Avenue for the final half-mile. The course takes a slight right at Gerar Street and crosses over Columbia Avenue onto Fourth Street for the final quarter-mile. The new course eliminates the sharp 90-degree turn at the finish, and spectators should have a great look at their loved ones heading to the finish line on Fourth Street between Kent Street and Sussex Street.

Marathon facts

There will be nine water stops on the course using 500 gallons of water, 90 cases of Powerade, and 28,000 cups. There will be six spectator viewing locations: Boardwalk and Rehoboth Avenue at 2.5 miles; Gordons Pond at 4.5/17.6 miles; Herring Point at 7.1/15.1 miles; Fort Miles at 8.3/14 miles; Grove Park at 19.7/25.7 miles; Wolfe Neck Road turnaround at 22.6 miles.

Striders Banquet

The Seashore Striders Cross Country team celebrated its 32nd season with a banquet and slideshow at Cape Henlopen High School Nov. 30. About 100 athletes and parents gathered to hear the accomplishments of the 52 young runners who received participation certificates and end-of-season awards. The award ceremony kicked off with drawing the name of the annual Striders Raffle winner, which was runner Erin Noonan of Lewes. The seven All-American runners from the National Championships last week in Kentucky were then recognized, led by Nora Furlong in sixth place, Nolan Furlong in ninth place, Katie Kuhlman in 12th place, Colin Kay in 13th, Allison Ortiz in 15th, Kai Mundok in 19th and Brady Sherman in 25th place. The Leadership Awards went to Lily Noonan, Shiloh O’Grady and Erin Noonan, while the Performance of the Year Awards went to Brady Sherman, Kai Mundok, Nolan Furlong, Shiloh O’Grady, Nora Furlong and Katie Resnick. The Rising Star Award went to Luca Tobias, Quinn Peacock, Madison Miller, and Nora Furlong, while the Most Improved Award went to Claudia Stazzone and Kai Mundok. The Most Valuable Runner Awards went to Allison Ortiz and Riley Stazzone, while the final historic award, the Coaches Award, went to Jude Peacock and Mia Thompson. Special thanks to Striders coaches Gavin Furlong, Dan MacElrevey, Jen Cawthern, Chris Sherman and Derek Shockro, who put in countless hours to make these young athletes better runners and people.