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Messiah men and Liberty woman dominate Rehoboth Marathon

Eric Bofinger, left, runs over the Lewes drawbridge with Patrick Hager during the Rehoboth Beach Seashore Marathon. Bofinger took first-place honors with a time of 2:36:23, while Hager placed second in 2:36:45. BY DAN COOK
Dave Frederick
December 11, 2011
Iain Banks, right, stays just ahead of Jacob Cooper at the 11-mile mark. At the finish Cooper took third place with a 2:37:41 while Banks placed fifth with a 2:43:44. BY DANCOOK
Local runner Enos Denbow runs the Lewes loop of the race. He placed fourth with a 2:42:39. BY DAN COOK
Brian Hager runs to a seventh place finish with a 2:44:44. BY DAN COOK
Carol Jefferson takes the first female finish and 10th overall with a with a 2:50:34 BY DAN COOK
Remus Medley shows that is strong at the 11-mile mark. He placed twelfth with a time of 2:51:22. BY DAN OOK
Local runner Rick Brokaw clears the Lewes drawbridge. He placed 18th with a 2:56:14. BY DAN COOK
Breck Vanderwende, shown here crossing the Lewes drawbridge,  placed 24th with a 2:59:21. BY DAN COOK
Meredith Samson of Chatilly, Va. leads a pack and runs to a 46th place overall and a first place in the 30-34 age group with a time of 3:16:59. BY DAN COOK
(L-r) Lawrenc Hart runs with Dean Dimmig and Mark Koctchey. They finished 158, 66 and 123 respectively. BY DAN COOK
Linda-Lou O'Connor gets some nourishment and encouragement during her run through Lewes. She placed 121 with a 3:43:40. BY DAN COOK

A December Saturday morning marathon and embedded half marathon with 1,500 runners departing from the town of Rehoboth striding to Lewes at race pacing as varied as sub-6 minutes a mile to 18 minutes a mile, then heading back to Rehoboth for a common finish chute - a race that also incorporates three different state park jurisdictions - seems like a logistical nightmare. But somehow it works well and with computer chip timing provided by Lin-Mark sports, it is incredibly efficient as well.

A total of 689  out of 1,500 runners turned around at the halfway point and came back to the finish chute. Maybe a few stopped at Wawa - certainly doable at 20-minute pace.

Tom Beekhuysen, 48, of Herndon,Va., finished first in the half marathon in 1:15:33. Matt Dunn, 31, of Trappe, Md. was second in 1:16.41.

Chrissy Graham, 38, of Olney, Md. was the first woman in 1:25:02. Heather Leiggi, 36, of Bryn Mawr, Pa., was second in 1:25.4.

With 637 finishers, the marathon was won by former Messiah College runner Eric Bofinger, 25, in 2:36:22. Patrick Hager, 26, also a former Messiah runner, was second in 2:36:44.

Carol Jefferson, 26, of Schwenksville, Pa., a former Liberty University runner, was the women's winner in 2:50:33. Heather Parks, 36, of Bruceton Mills, W. Va., was second in 3:07:09.

Twenty-seven runners broke the magical three-hour barrier in the marathon. Rick Brokaw, 51, a psychologist at Cape Henlopen High School, ran 2:56.14 for the fastest time of any runner over 50, not bad for a triathlete who survived getting whacked by a Dodge 2500 truck head on while biking last June 14 and spent three days in the hospital. Brokaw has run 44 marathons and said Rehoboth was one of the best-managed events, producing one of his best times.

The reasons to run are quite different, from elite college runners who still enjoy competing to athletes from other sports who have crossed over. Many athletes run to celebrate overcoming some personal medical malady in their lives while others run for a friend who cannot. Runners tend not to be from blue-collar backgrounds and manual arts.

A complete list of results can be found online at www.lin-mark.com.

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