Most people run just because, not for a cause

“C’est la vie”- You never can tell. The Fire Fightin’ 5K Run/Walk in Rehoboth Sunday morning is one of those races on the schedule that hits like a tropical storm along the coast. Some races just attract participation, while others do not, and I’m convinced it's not for the cause, but rather just because. There were 211 participants and 22 kids dashers that came out to support the Rehoboth fire department, but half of the runners were from out of state on vacation and just looking for something to do other than getting wobbly before chasing a costumed bull down the beach in a wowie-zowie frenzy. Of the top 25 runners, only three were from Delaware. Beau Croll, eighth overall, pushed his son Axel in a stroller to a time of 20:24. Jon Subity of Dagsboro finished 10th in 20:33, while Aaron Tikiob, 13, of Rehoboth placed 16th in 21:28. There were several firefighters who ran in full gear. I posted a photo of Allen Jackson from Station 85 in the 684 because everyone locally loves Jackson. He gets more hits on social media than Darby Dog drinking from the toilet bowl.  

Spring chicken - Elizabeth Tretter, 44, was ecstatic to win the women’s masters division at the Fire Fightin’ 5K with a time of 22:43. I talked to the New Yorker afterward as we had a mutual friend, Ira Turner, who used to be Mike Tyson’s sparring partner. Elizabeth said she is training for the Berlin Marathon. I asked the obvious question, “Berlin, Md., or Germany?” Tretter has a goal to run all the world’s major marathons and said the COVID restrictions over the last year have caused the schedule of marathons to slide all over the calendar. She added, “I have to train and plan, and at 44, I’m no spring chicken.” I stood there 30 years older and thought, “I ain't no banty rooster. In fact, it’s ad infinitum the things that we ain’t.”

Static interference - “Go hard or go home” is a cute sports cliché that is pretty much meaningless. Humans have too much “retroactive interference.” They think and reflect and self-analyze on the fly, which makes total focused frenzy impossible. Watch a domesticated dog get into an unscheduled fight; they instantly become totally maniacal and homicidal at go time. You can’t get them to disengage without plank to their flank. The two sports teams I see getting close to relentless intensity are Salesianum soccer and Delmar field hockey. Both those teams play amped high voltage all the time. It's all I can do to find the ball through my camera lens. Football is different. Too many stoppages after each play, but I’d say Sussex Central is a squad that rarely underachieves and never backs down from trench warfare. 

On/off switch - Most of the coaches I cover I have known for a long time. Most are not guarded when we talk about their team, leaving it up to me to have enough sense to realize what’s on and off the record. If I don’t get “off the record” candid stuff, then I have no idea what’s really going on. Cape football moved the ball on both Lake Forest and Hodgson at Saturday’s scrimmage. There were players out and a few others banged up. The injury report always comes first when talking to a football coach. I know coach J.D. Maull is looking for his team to be more excitable. “We score and it’s quiet,” he said. Coach did cite Brenn Scott and Nate Horn for playing physical, downhill football. The boys will scrimmage at home Friday, Aug. 27, versus Conrad and Odessa. 

Snippets - Jaden Davis got his No. 21 at Salisbury University and is listed on the football roster. Ja’Vaughn Burton is a freshman wide receiver wearing No. 84. Will Perkins is an offensive lineman out of Sussex Central wearing No. 67. Ben Ashby, straight outta Cape and Salisbury, is student-teaching at Indian River this fall. I understand the concept of “preferred walk-on.” Does that mean “non-preferred walk-on” means “You can walk on but we prefer that you don’t?” Now is a good time to look back at summer recruitment tournaments and college one-day performance clinics, and realize that mostly you are on the downside of an upside economic model. I’m watching emerging COVID restrictions as they pertain to sports. I just want the games to go on. I don’t care if I have to report from inside a deep-sea diving helmet. Go on now, git!