Rubie Goffena, 13, runs 19:41 in Milton Irish Eyes 5K
The Milton Irish Eyes 5K June 18 by the Broadkill River basin opened a few eyes when Rubie Goffena of Hempstead, Md., placed second overall and first among women in a time of 19:41. Rubie is just 13 years old, coming off a seventh-grade middle school season in which she ran a 5:25 mile.
“Let me show you some real estate in the area,” said Race Director Tim Bamforth in jest to Rubie’s mother. “That is really fast for a 13-year-old.”
Martin Rodriguez, 35, who was the fat kid in class as recently as high school, won yet another 5K, in a time of 17:59. An endearing trait of Martin’s is he trains hard then accepts his result with equal graciousness whether in first or not - up to a point.
“I have no problem accepting the fact people are faster than me,” he said. “I just want to run up to my abilities.”
Enos Benbow, 35, now a cross country truck driver, parked his tractor across from the fire hall and ran an easy 20:42, good for fifth place, but slow by the Georgetown/Jamaican’s standards. “I am just so out of shape,” Enos said. “That run hurt me a little bit.”
Joey Andrisani, 34, placed third in 19:59, then joked in all seriousness, “I made a wrong turn.”
Jules Woodall, 69, a Woodstock generation runner and rocker, took a break from Firefly, and with three hours of sleep, ran 25:51 before driving back to Firefly to wake Bob Dylan.
The Poppleton brothers, Scott and Rick, ran together in 34:07. Rick is nursing an injured hamstring, which gave him 34 minutes to listen to Scott, who can actually out-talk his brother.
This upcoming weekend is a big one for the Seashore Striders, with the 13th annual Jungle Jim’s 5K set for Saturday, June 24, and the 22nd annual Bill Degnan 5K slated for Sunday, June 25 at Cape, beginning at 7:30 a.m., in front of the high school by the rotunda.
