Wardian wins Summer’s End 5K, then takes his dog for a cool-down run
The 10th annual Summer’s End 5K held Sept. 4 in Dewey Beach attracted 188 runners; the most notable was Michael Wardian, perhaps the country’s most accomplished ultra runner.
Wardian doesn’t train for 5Ks; he’s not really a speed-work-type runner, but because his base is so deep, he can easily sustain an up-tempo pace for 5 kilometers. Mike, 48, easily won the race in a time of 16:52, which is a 5:26 pace.
Wardian picked up his dog at the finish line and both went out for a 5K cool-down/calm-down run.
The top eight runners, all male, broke the 20-minute mark. Following Wardian were Tim McCoraica (17:29), Joey Andrisani (18:39), masters winner Mark McCaffery (19:08), Lincoln Narnaez (19:30), Bill Wennberg (19:33), Bobby Hutton (19:42) and David Hume (19:44).
The top five women were Danille Lambert (20:47), Anna Bockius (21:00), masters winner Terea Hutsell (22:29), Emerson Guerke (22:37) and Jacqueline Merritt (23:20).
Notables: Doug Tootell, 75, won the 75-79 age group in 29:41. Betsy Tootell, 68, won the 65-69 age group in 32:13. Jacqueline Merritt, 34, of Minneapolis, Minn., of team Prancing Poodle, won her age group in 23:20, while her husband Jeff Merritt, 38, was second in the 35-39 group in 21:09.
The next Races2Run beach race is the 46th annual Gary P. Lister Bottle & Cork 10-Miler/5K Saturday, Sept. 10.
