Dewey Beach Liquors 5K runners cruise by the bar but don’t walk in
Dewey Beach is not the town that never sleeps, but the town that sleeps in shifts. On July 4, with talk of a light Sunday night at the Cork, 355 runners raced down Dagsworthy Avenue, turned left at Dewey Beach Liquors, then left again past the Bottle & Cork onto Bellevue Street, and it was on like Kubla Khan.
The young-and-relentless, fast-and-furious runners were down Bellevue and onto Bayard pushing a five-minute-mile pace.
The top 50 runners hailed from 10 different states and all broke 23 minutes.
Declan Rymez, 21, of Downingtown, Pa., was the overall winner in 16:08. Joey Cintavey, 21, of Newark was second in 16:11. He was followed by Nick Garrett, 21, of Hockessin in 16:43.
Jeremy Ratner, 44, of Reston, Va., was male masters champion in 19:36.
Kara Forwood, 25, of Wayne, Pa., was the first woman and 12th overall in 19:02.
Michelle Simon, 43, of Washington, D.C., was second woman and female masters champion in 21:33. Alysia Puma, 50, of Flemington, N.J., was third in 21:44.
The nine-minute milers and slower runners who make the running scene colorful and economically viable numbered 200, with a handful of walkers and talkers, and a few who might pick up a beer along the race route.
Notables: Bernie Gallagher, 81, straight out of La Salle High in Philly, won the 80-and-over age group in 42:04. April Anderson, 77, of Newark won the 75-79 women's age group in 40:06. Jules Woodall, 74, the last 10 Sisters hall of famer still running races on a regular basis, won the 70-74 age group in 31:40. Chris Handlin, 22, a Cape wrestler who finished second in the state at 182 in 2019, ran 22:39, which is a 7:18 mile pace. Zack Swarbrick, 25, a former Cape soccer player, ran 23:27.
