Race for the Paws caps Striders Summer Racing Series

The 13th annual Race for the Paws 5K & 1-Mile Dog Walk will be held Saturday, Aug. 7, from Dewey Beach Lions Club/Northbeach on Dagsworthy Avenue in Dewey Beach beginning at 8 a.m. This is race No. 10 of the Seashore Striders Summer Racing Series, wrapping up the 31st summer for the longtime Delaware series. The race will leave Dagsworthy Avenue and loop the Seabreeze development. Awards will be presented to the overall and masters winners, and the top three finishers in 16 age groups.

The proceeds will benefit the Brandywine SPCA. It depends heavily on donations from the public, as it does not receive government grants, nor is it affiliated with any national organizations. Go to BVSPCA.org to learn about the organization’s services or to make a donation. Another way to help is to participate in the event. See you Saturday in Dewey Beach.

Summer Racing Series

The Seashore Striders Summer Racing Series standings are organized by runner Tim Young, who does a fantastic job each week with the computerized stats. There are more statistics than you could imagine regarding the series. Preliminary results are determined by the number of races and then by time. Runners must complete one five-mile event and five 5K events to qualify for the series. The final standings are determined by the fastest five-mile race and the five fastest 5K events. Runners are placed in groups determined by their age when they started the series, which eliminates jumping age groups during the summer in the series.

All-10 Group

A group of 16 runners has completed all nine of the races through the Dam Mill 5K and have only the Paws 5K left to complete the All-10 accomplishment. Congratulations so far to the following: Connie Bean, Jennifer April, Martin Rodriguez, Karen Eller, Jennifer Murray, Chris Stanley, LeeAnn Waltz, Jackie Rams-Martin, Louise Holt, Marian Dowling, John Dowling, Cheryl Justison, Alan Quillen, John Walters, Jules Woodall and Terry Gricher.

Heading into the Paws 5K, we have 63 runners who have qualified for the series, with 17 runners needing just one more 5K. The maximum we could finish with is 80 qualified runners. Not bad for a series coming off a year of virtual. The series record is in the 130-135 range set in the early 2000s.

Martin Rodriguez, 39, leads the overall series with a time of 1:56:31, while 16-year-old Olivia Montini leads the female side with a time of 2:12:44. Mike Sewell leads the male masters with a time of 2:05:19, while Susan Dunn leads the female masters with a time of 2:34:23. Maya Yngve is the youngest in the series at 12 years old, while Jack Huxtable, at 83 years old, is the oldest to qualify. 

Shockro wins beach flags

Cape Henlopen sophomore Lainey Shockro, a former member of the Seashore Striders, and pole vaulter and sprinter on my girls’ track team, won gold in the beach flags event at the USLA National Lifeguard Championships. Lainey also grabbed silver in the 90 sprint event.   

Lainey is following in her dad’s footsteps, as Derek was a multi-national champion in the relay events back in his day. Congratulations to young Lainey Shockro.

Fort Collins 

I survived a hike in the foothills, a Cheyenne Frontier Day Rodeo, as well as yoga class on the Horsetooth Reservoir (and Miss Hiba would be proud of me not getting too wet), while at the same time renovating a house that has had its advantages and disadvantages. When replacing flooring, electric, plumbing, doors, turning unfinished rooms into finished rooms in a 30-plus-year-old home, you never know what you may run into. Things have gone well, but a bit slower than expected, with some surprises along the way. I’m not sure if I want to follow in the footsteps of the “Fixer Upper” or “Property Brothers” line of work or create a post-retirement career of Seashore Home Renovations, but I have learned a lot, and though the days averaged 15 hours, it was pretty cool to see a vision become a reality.