Bottle and Cork 10-Miler hot as advertised, everyone back safely

It was 90 degrees and humid at 8 a.m., Sept. 10, without a breath of salt air in downtown Dewey Beach, a town nestled between the Atlantic Ocean and Rehoboth Bay. Dewey isn’t a town that never sleeps, but a town that sleeps in shifts.

Runners totaling 443 showed up for the elective misery and self satisfaction of finishing a 5K or 10-mile race. Ten miles is three times as far, so not surprisingly more people chose the great distance, 243, than the 5K, 198.  

There was an elective 7 a.m. start for the 10-miler for those who run slow or not so fast when it’s hot.  

And at 8 a.m., the 5K and 10-miler started on opposite sides of the highway, the 5K on the bay side and the 10-miler oceanside.

Josey Rupert, 23, from Shickshinny, Pa., “chicked” the field in the 5K, getting first overall in 18:52. Steve Koch, 55, from Shillington, Pa., home of late author John Updike, was the overall male winner in 19:05.

Rick Poppleton, 63, was overall masters champion in 20:44, while Kirsten Belair, 44, was first in the female masters category in 21:34.

The 10-mile race was won in convincing fashion by Dan Swain, 25, from Narberth, Pa., in 58:23. Kristin Zielinski, 35, from Philly, was the first woman in 1:10:38.

Brian Murray was overall masters winner in 1:03:28. Denise Knickman was female master winner in 1:11:33.

Thirteen of 143 runners ran a 7:30 mile pace or better for the 10-mile distance.

Note: Dagsworthy Street looked like a disaster drill, with police cruisers and rescue vehicles in preparation and anticipation of any problems that might occur, but none did.