Enos Benbow: The running man
Catching up with Enos Benbow is something few people in the Cape Region have been able to do.
A fixture at Seashore Striders races, Benbow has been racing in the Cape Region and beyond for years, winning almost as often as he enters. So what’s his secret to successful long-distance running?
“The biggest key I would say is learning patience,” Benbow said in a quiet, unassuming voice. “If you’re going too fast, you’re going to run out of energy. And if you don’t go fast enough, people are going to run away from you and you’re not going to be able to catch up. Learning patience allows you to run at a really solid pace without getting tired.”
Tall and lithe, he looks the part of a runner, despite recently being laid up with an ankle injury. How Benbow got his start in racing is as unpretentious as the man himself.
The now-32-year-old native of Jamaica entered a race in Chicago in 1993, during the middle of winter, shortly after he came to America.
In Jamaica, he said, "It was 70 to 80 degrees all year and I moved here, and I looked outside, and there were no leaves on the trees. So I thought all the trees were dead. I was flipping through the paper and saw something for a 5K race and thought that would be kind of interesting to do,” he said. “I just showed up and ran.”
For a kid who wanted to be a cricket player when he lived in Jamaica, running was a new interest. In 1996, he moved to Delaware, where he had family. He said the transition to Delaware was difficult at first, but he grew to like the area's easygoing, low-key nature.
Living in Georgetown, Benbow attended Sussex Central High School and went to college at Salisbury University with a focus on graphic design, a career he still pursues as a freelancer.
Benbow himself did not start running distance competitively until he was a sophomore in high school, when he took up cross country to improve his endurance for the 400-meter dash. Benbow said the kids he helps coach now push him to be better.
“I never started running as early as these kids,” he said. “Their work ethic for being so young is really motivating to me.”
Benbow said when he can, he likes to go back to Jamaica every two years to visit family and friends there.
The most memorable races for Benbow were running the Boston Marathon in 2011 and 2012.
“I love the fact that the crowd support is really awesome and the way the race is organized. Everything about it is done so well,” Benbow said. “One thing that stuck in my mind, Boston beats your legs up so much because you’re running downhill for such a long time. On the way back, this volunteer followed me back and took me to a restaurant to get me some water and stuff to drink. When I walked in, everyone saw I had just finished the race. Everyone stood up and gave me a standing ovation.
“The town kind of shuts down just for the race. The entire course had people cheering for you, which helps lift your spirit when you get tired,” he said.
Benbow competes at every distance imaginable, from 5Ks to marathons to ultramarathons or a 50K.
“I’ve tried every distance running I possibly can,” he said.
He said the 50K race in Ohiopyle, Pa., was maybe the most challenging race he’s ever done. The grueling race covers 31 miles, five more than a marathon, over the hilly western Pennsylvania terrain of Laurel Highlands State Park. Benbow said the race is difficult not only for its punishing effect on the body, but also because runners are all alone for long stretches of the race. Benbow said he’s run the race twice, his best time being 4 hours and 48 minutes. When he learned he was close to a course record, he decided to run it again, but the second time he didn’t train as well as he would have liked and also had to deal with poor weather, causing him to finish in 5 hours and 6 minutes.
“That course is really tough,” Benbow said. “There are other courses I could have run and done 3:30.”
Traveling is a big part of what keeps him going. Benbow said he uses races as a way for him to see the United States; he’s been to 45 of the 50 states.
Still, he said he enjoys living in Delaware for the friendships he’s made through running. In addition to running, Benbow volunteers with Seashore Striders and coaching youth and high school teams.
“The crowd support and everyone being really friendly and happy with each other, that’s what I love about running here,” Benbow said. “I love running with the kids and push myself to motivate somebody else to push themselves to never give up.”
Benbow said he loves the competitive aspect of running against other people.
“That helps me force myself to see what I can do come race day. Just pushing myself as much as I can,” he said.
