Cross country races coming to new Sandhill Fields

It was nice to see the Sandhill Fields project nearing completion as I attended an invite-only celebration Wednesday in Georgetown. Sports like pickleball, soccer, field hockey, lacrosse and cross country are all coming to Georgetown, giving youth in the area plenty of opportunity to stay local and play. The cross country course will get some use in October, as a six-race series will be held at two sites – three in Georgetown and three at Schutte Park in Dover – for elementary, middle and high school runners. It is being organized by the City of Dover Parks & Recreation Department and the Seashore Striders as a way to give runners in the area a chance to run. Many young runners have not competed since March, and this showcases Sandhill as well as providing a place to compete. Look for information at seashorestriders.com.

Sundance 5K & Sashay

The Sundance Virtual 5K is going on this week and will continue through Saturday, Sept. 5, ending at midnight. Beautiful 30-by-60 towels are the swag and will be available for pickup this weekend. You can run, walk or just sashay yourself around for a good cause. For more information on the event that raises proceeds for CAMP Rehoboth, go to www.seashorestriders.com. 

Other races

The seventh annual Run, White & Blue 5K will be held virtually from Thursday, Sept. 10 to Sunday, Sept. 13, led by Janelle Boyer. The 30th annual Last Blast Prediction 5K will give runners two options to participate. The virtual event will run three days, from Saturday, Sept. 5 to Monday, Sept. 7, while the live event will be held Saturday, Sept. 5, at Grove Park in Rehoboth Beach with a rolling wave start of no more than 30 runners in each wave. The live event registration is open to the first 200 runners. Registration is unlimited for the virtual run. Participants can take part in either or both events. A race discount will be offered for both events. 

Inaugural Indoor Track Delaware 5K

The inaugural Indoor Track Delaware 5K began virtually Aug. 20 and will continue through Sept. 20, raising funds to complete a feasibility study on a project that hopes to bring an indoor facility to the state of Delaware. Participants can go to seashorestriders.com to register for the 5K and complete the race whenever and wherever.

Finish chute

The Seashore Striders are working with my buddy Steve Pickering from the City of Dover Parks & Recreation Department on open cross country races. Coach Pickering, a former middle distance runner himself, and I go back well into the early ’90s, when we both traveled to youth meets all through the fall season. Coach Pickering guided a very talented DPR group of young runners and also went on to coach at Dover High School. Of the six indoor team titles won from 1993-95, Pickering led Dover High School to win four of them. Only three coaches have ever won both the boys’ and girls’ titles in the same year; Art Madric won both in 1989 for Howard, Steve Pickering in 1995 for Dover and Pat Castagno in 2011 for Tatnall. Back in the early all-state banquets of the ’90s, the previous year’s Coach of the Year introduced the current Coach of the Year, and I had the honor to introduce Pickering to receive his 1994 honor.

The next addition to the fieldhouse at Cape will be the indoor track & field records along with the outdoor records and state champions list. It is a great addition to the program and thanks go to longtime coach George Pepper, who led this project.

I am currently in the middle of my second master’s degree and doing an internship project with Cape Athletic Director Kevin Smith. I hope to add the boys’ team championship signs to go along with the already-good-looking girls’ signs that are hung along the fence at Legends Stadium. If you were a part of a boys’ state championship team at Cape Henlopen, reach out to me at tim@seashorestrider.com.