Bunny Palooza 5K: Hare today, home tomorrow
A rain-drenched bunny sighting is a “hare occurrence,” because they have more sense than to hop about in the rain like preregistered road racers.
“We had to make a tough call this morning to cancel the 10K race and limit it to one 5K at 9 a.m.,” said Wayne Kursh of Races2Run. “I’m glad the storms moved off the coast, but at 7 a.m., it just didn’t look good.”
A total of 380 runners completed the course, with all of them getting their shoes soaked while facing a stiff south wind on the return to the finish line.
Chris Shaw, 43, of Silver Spring, Md., was the overall winner in 17:02. Shaw was pushed to the finish line by Brent Hall, 23, from Elkton, Md., in 17:33.
Dan Spahr, 41, of Silver Spring captured the male masters title in 19:56.
Michael Marciano, 29, of Dewey Beach was the top local placer at 12th in 20:18. Beau Croll, 31, of Lewes continues his improvement, running 20:49 .
“I’m focusing on the Marine Corps Marathon next fall,” Croll said. “My training has gone well. It’s rewarding to get results.”
The women’s races saw Kelsey Oliphant and her sister Alexis Oliphant, 26, of Laurel cruise through the finish banner in the same second, 22:51. The third sister of the triplet trio, Taylor, ran 38:46.
Rachel Heavers, 42, of Baltimore won the female masters title in 24:52
Notable locals: Robert Fitzgerald, 64, won the 60-69 age group in 24:23. A tight bunch at the front of the 70-and-over male category was led by Bruce Gladstone in 25:58, Jules Woodall in 26:07 and Tim Abbott in 28:32. Autumn Davis, 18, of Lewes walked the race with her grand pop Chip Davis in 43:11, which slow walkers describe as a brisk pace. Jen Perry, 47, of Millsboro was second in the 40-49 group in 25:18.
The next Races2Run race at the beach is the inaugural Flight of the Phoenix 5K at Gary’s Dewey Beach Grill at 9 a.m., Saturday, April 27.
