Seashore Striders wrap up 26th summer series

The 26th Championship Series for the Seashore Striders is in the books, as 70 male runners and 62 female runners for a total of 132 completed five 5Ks and one five-miler to qualify for the series. The series began in 1990 and has remained consistently the same through the years with the only change being in the scoring process. For the first 15 years the series was scored by total time; however, Dr. Lee Masser decided to switch to a point system for simplicity about 10 years ago and it has remained in the point format since then.

This year’s overall male champion was regular runner Mike Sewell, a masters runner, in a combined time of 1:59:50, while the ageless Cindy Conant won the female championship in a combined time of 2:12:36.

The masters male championship went to Chris Stanley in 2:05:20, while Lisa Sherman won the masters female championship in 2:25:46.

Here is a look at the age group results and points for both the male and female runners in the series:

Male

10-13

1. D.J. Farren - 6; 2. Aydan Vanderwende - 35; 3. Adrian Castillo - 47.

14-19

1. Colin Craig - 25

20-24

1. Sonny Landis - 10

25-29

1. Bonieke Rodriguez - 17; 2. Beau Croll - 18.

30-34

1. Martin Rodriguez - 6; 2. Matt Littlejohn - 14.

35-39

1. John Blackford - 11; 2. Juston Welsh - 16; 3. Brian Frable - 22; 3. Eric Smith - 34.

40-44

1. Breck Vanderwende - 7; 2. Erik Farinas - 13; 3. Gemez Tull - 26; 4. Joey Kwit - 32; 5. Chris Otwell - 38.

45-49

1. Paul Montini - 15; 2. Bryan Bowles - 29; 3. Michael Firch - 41; 4. Stephen Joyce - 42; 5. Chris Sinclair - 60.

50-54

1. Dave Farren - 14; 2. Craig Karchner - 26; 3. John Yanacek - 31.

55-59

1. John Dowling - 9; 2. Peter Tracey - 13; 3. David Landis - 14; 4. Tim Young - 21; 5. Peter Chiarelli - 34; Q. Marty Stone - 51; Q. Kirk Alderdice - 62; Q. Jay Epstein - 62.

60-64

1. Rick Poppleton - 6; 2. Brian Johnston - 8; 3. Rich Feinstein - 17; 4. Alan Quillen - 19; 5. Second Wind - 23; Q. Jack Vassalotti - 34; Q. Dean Stewart - 35; Q. Doug Purcell - 37; Q. Richard Tikiob - 49; Q. Dan Sypinski - 53; Q. Jose Lukecart- 55; Q. James Roe - 75.

65-69

1. Jules Woodall - 8; 2. Terry Gricher - 11; 3. Mike Richardson - 23; 4. Jim Marvin - 26; 5. Willard Phillips - 34; Q. Tom Fitzpatrick - 35; Q. Leo Hennigan - 45; Q. Al Hoffman - 49; Q. Russ Melrath - 53; Q. Bill Brooks - 56.

70-74

1. Tim Abbott - 6; 2. Brian Logan - 11; 3. Doug Hawkland - 12; 4. James Klingel - 21; 5. Don Zalenski - 29.

75-79

1. Jack Huxtable - 6; 2. Jack Noel - 9; 3. William McArthur - 10; 4. Paul Kiefer - 11; 5. John Neal - 23.

80 & Over

1. John Button - 6; 2. Ed Green - 6; 3. Dr. Lee Masser - 12; 4. Alberto Castillo - 17

Female

10-13

1. Olivia Montini - 6; 2. Katie Kuhlman - 20.

14-19

1. Keren Rams - 16.

25-29

1. Carolyn Sweeney - 21

30-34

1. Abby Andrews - 6; 2. Jessie Krouse - 9; 3. Laura Marvin - 20; 4. Elizabeth Gerritt - 25; 5. Rosie Nielsen - 40

35-39

1. Susan Dunn - 6; 2. Jessie Sentivan - 20; 3. Amy Kuhlman - 40; 3. Heather Marvin - 40; 4. Kelly Pettyjohn - 54

40-44

1. Molly Sewell - 22; 2. Jennifer Murray - 32; 3. Roxy Castillo - 39; 4. Carla Yngve - 40; 5. Alyssa Simon - 56

45-49

1. Mardiny Ung - 7; 2. Becky Montini - 14; 3. Jackie Quigley - 19; 4. Linda Stanley - 20; 5. Jan Saeger - 24; Q. Robbin Wells - 46; Q. Melissa Mulligan - 53; Q. Renee Lewandowski - 84; Q. Sandra Waldee-Warden - 91

50-54

1. Meryl Ludwig - 7; 2. Margaret Colvin - 8; 3. Karen Johnston - 10; 4. Amy Keating - 21; 5. Linda Schwartz-Chi - 24; Q. Lori Waldee-Warden - 29; Q. Sheila Young - 38; Q. Esther Kernosh - 41; Q. Cindy Redefer - 48; Q. Cindy Dominik - 51; Q. Leeann Waltz - 54; Q. Laurie Milnes - 57; Q. Laurie Yanacek - 66; Q. Karen Karchner - 94

55-59

1. Nina Smeltzer - 11; 2. Jill Extract - 14; 3. Louise Holt - 23; 4. Cathy Haut - 31; 5. Jackie Rams Martin - 33

60-64

1. Mary Andrisani - 11; 2. Deborah Rementer - 12; 3. Teri Moore - 16; 4. Pepperr Liner - 31; 5. Laura Buckland - 33; Q. Nancy Brooks - 37

65-69

1. Andrea Hoffman - 6; 2. Georgette O’Cone - 9; 3. Marie Kuhlman - 19

70-74

1. Joann Szczepkowski - 6; 2. Sherri Wright - 10; 3. Sandra Gossman - 15

75-79

1. Marge Warshauer - 6; 2. Jamie Wollard - 7

80 & Over

1. Stella Castillo - 6.

Thanks from the Hoffmans

There are so many terrific runners of the Seashore Strider Series who are so thankful for the races that every summer I receive several letters of thanks. I wanted to share one of the many this week from Andrea Hoffman of Rehoboth Beach.

Dear Tim,

I had hoped to get to the Dam Mill Run and thank you personally, but we had unexpected company. Because of a family wedding, no Hofffman will be running my favorite event, the Last Blast Prediction Race. So, here are my heartfelt "Thank you to Tim and the Striders" thoughts. First, as you know, we used to live on Grove Street, where for many years, we would sit on the porch drinking coffee and eating donuts as we watched the racers. It was Al who finally decided to get up one morning, forgo the donut and join you on the race course. Later that summer, Al announced to all of us that as a Fathers' Day gift, he would like us all to run the 5K. So began a wonderful weekend tradition that has brought us together as a family, introduced us to a great community of fellow runners and kept us healthy and active. I am enclosing two of my favorite pictures of both young Eve and Michael taken after finishing Striders races.  

On a personal note, I was never much of an athlete and only started running while waiting for Eve to finish track practice at school. But, I was soon hooked and hated missing two back-to-back summer seasons due to injuries. When I got the medical go-ahead to resume running, my goal was once again to run the summer Strider Series. I hit the gym treadmill last winter, always imagining that I was headed up Henlopen Avenue getting ready to sprint to the finish line. Thank you, Tim, for running a very family- and kid-friendly racing series that has inspired myself and my entire family.

Upcoming races

• Saturday, Aug. 13 - Inaugural Delaware Kids Fund 5K at Que Pasa; 8 a.m., Dewey Beach, www.races2run.com

• Sunday, Aug. 14 - Eighth annual Harry K Foundation 10K/5K at the Greene Turtle, 8:15 a.m., Lewes, www.races2run.com

• Saturday, Aug. 20 - Third annual Breast Fest 5K, 8 a.m., Dewey Beach, www.races2run.com

• Sunday, Aug. 21 - Second annual RBVFC Fire Fightin’ 5K Run/Walk, 8 a.m., Rehoboth Beach, www.seashorestriders.com.