Connor Holm, 20, wins Highway One 5K to honor late Doug White
Harriers and hot rods served as the storyline for the 15th running of the Highway One Companies 5K, held Memorial Day at the Rusty Rudder in Dewey Beach. The event honored Dean of Delaware Distance Running Doug White, who passed away suddenly last year.
Many of the runners wore Boston Marathon shirts to honor the Delaware Sports Hall of Famer who had run the Boston Marathon an incredible 44 times.
Connor Holm, 20, a junior at Shippensburg by way of Radnor High School in Radnor, Pa., ran away with the event in a time of 16:35. Craig Holm, 62, Connor’s dad, is one of Delaware’s all-time distance runners, still holding the course record at the prestigious Caesar Rodney Half Marathon.
“Doug helped my dad restore a 1970 GTO, which he still has,” Connor said after the race. “They were close friends for a long time. I ran here today to honor Doug White, and so did my dad.”
A total of 325 ran and walked the course on an overcast morning. Atop the men’s leaderboard following Connor were masters runner Kyle Brightbill, 42, 17:23; Jason Belinkie, 17:48; Arjay Jensen, 18:11; and Gary Berard, 18:20.
Young D.J. Farren, 14, whose father Dave Farren was a close running friend of Doug’s, ran 18:51. Rounding out the top 10 were Brandt Chi, 19:13; Michael Abrahams, 19:27; Bobby Hutton, 19:38; and Chris Stanley, 19:42.
The top 10 women in the race were Ashley Czekanski, 21:25; Alise Reynolds, 45, first masters winner, 21:47; Sara Cohen, 23:10; Mardiny Ung, 23:15; Karly Soulas, 23:49; Nicole Schroyer, 23:53; Amanda Ritter, 23:59; Mary Rice, 24:03; Heather Imhof, 24:04; and Michelle Zechman, 24:07.
Last to complete the course were Linda Funk, Bill Funk, Susan White and Carolina Tutt, who along with timer Ed carried Doug’s image across the finish line.
