Rylie’s Smile Turkey Escape 5K attracts 500 to Lewes

A Broad Street smile from Temple freshman Rylie Maedler flashed before Ernie Lopez sounded the starting horn. The air was saturated with moist drizzle.

Many of the 450 runners were thematically rocking turkey hats and being basted by raindrops. Mixed in with walkers and wet roads, it was not a Thanksgiving Day morning for fast times. 

Kevin McDonnell blazed and glazed the course in 15:47. The 34-year-old former St. Joesph’s runner from Camden Catholic broke through the Races2Run banner. He gave off an aura of having been there before. 

In May, McDonnell became the first American in 30 years to win the Broad Street 10-Miler. In just the second time he ran the distance, he clocked 47:33. He led 40,000 runners across the finish line at the Navy Yard in South Philadelphia. Kevin also owns a 2:17 personal best in the marathon.

There was a Broad Street connection, Rylie to Kevin. Rylie lives on North Broad Street at Johnson and Hardwick Halls on the Temple campus.

Ainsley Pressi, 25, of Baltimore, was the overall women’s winner in 17:40. Pressi ran as an undergraduate for the Lafayette Leopards and a year for the Towson Tigers as a graduate student. Tyler Pressi, 28, followed her to the finish line in 17:42. 

There were 11 runners who broke 20 minutes, including Kyle Costello, 23, who placed second in 16:19.

Notes: A family group called The Sausage Links (Link family) had about 30 runners across three generations compete. The missing Link was Joe Link, a legendary West Catholic then Cape May age-group runner who now lives in Florida. Megan Fullmer Moore, now a mother of four, a former Cape lacrosse player and later coach, is part of the Link family. Local Rick Slagle walked the 5K in the rain on his 75th birthday and was quite proud like a John Prine lyric – “Blue umbrella, rest upon my shoulder, and hide the pain while the rain makes up my mind.”