Flat and fast Firecracker 5K won by Nohillys
The 32nd Firecracker 5K was run on a flat course, but that was no matter to winner Eion Nohilly.
Nohilly, 25, from New Paltz, N.Y., broke the previous course record, running 14:35. Eion is a Georgetown University graduate who is in training for a 3,000-meter steeplechase race this August in California.
Kathryn Nohilly, 23, Eion’s sister, won the women's race in 18:38. Kathryn ran for George Washington University, then last year as a graduate student ran for the University of Florida.
Tom Nohilly, 57, ran 21:00 but did not place in his age group. Tom also has a track pedigree; as a college athlete, he ran the steeplechase for the University of Florida and was the 1989 NCAA champion.
The Nohillys have been vacationing in Rehoboth beach each summer ever since Tom won a 5K race here 18 years ago.
The top 26 runners all broke 20 minutes in the race.
“Eion Nohilly and Dylan Smiley hit the two-mile mark before half the field reached the mile,” said Race Director Tim Bamforth.
Smiley also broke the previous course record, running 15:03.
Mike Wardian, 49, an ultra-distance national runner who finished fourth, laughed after the race, “I was running next to this young guy in red [Lucas Le Coq, 17, from Washington, D.C.], so I thought I’d better gap him [get a distance ahead], which I did, but he came back and got me in the final straightaway.” Le Coq ran 16:02 to Wardian’s 16:08. Teresa Hutsell, 47, from Lewes won the female masters in 22:10.
Bennett Brumbley, 15, and Olivia Montini, 18, friends who have grown up around the running scene, crossed the finish line together in 20:09.
A complete listing of expanded results can be found at seashorestriders.com.
