Seashore Strider Summer Series just around the corner

The Seashore Strider Summer Series is just around the corner, as we are under a month to the 24th annual Masser 5-Miler, which kicks things off Sunday, May 28, at Cape Henlopen High School in Lewes. The series consists of 13 events throughout the summer. It’s made up of 11 5K events and two five-mile events. To qualify for series awards, a runner has to complete five 5K events and one five-mile event. 

After the Masser 5-Miler, the next in the series is the inaugural Doug Strong 5K at Irish Eyes in Lewes Saturday, June 3. The event is being held in memory of our friend and runner Doug White, who we lost in December. 

The series continues through Saturday, Aug. 5, when the last race, the Run for the Paws Lucy Crowe Memorial 5K, is held at The Starboard in Dewey Beach. For a complete list of races, go to www.seashorestriders.com.  

Cape Relays

The Beacon Middle School track and field program will host the third annual Cape Relays Friday, April 28, at Legends Stadium at Cape Henlopen High School. The relay meet has doubled since last year, as eight teams will compete in relays from the 4-by-100-meter to the distance medley. There will be eight events on the track and five events in the field, with trophies going to the top three teams.

This meet was started in 2015 to honor the oldest track and field carnival in the country - The Penn Relays. We decided to hold this meet every year the same weekend as the Penn Relays, showcasing our middle school athletes with a quality track and field meet of our own. Watch the future of track and field perform at a competitive middle school level at the Cape Relays, beginning at 4:15 p.m. at Cape Henlopen.

Delmarva Relays

The Cape High School team will head back to the Delmarva Relays, a meet Cape has attended on a regular basis since back in the day. The meet is also held Friday, April 28, a busy day for track and field on Delmarva. Many Bayside Conference teams attend this meet, which gives the Vikings a look at competition outside the Henlopen Conference.

Meet highlights - At the recent tri meet between Cape, Dover and Caesar Rodney, Cape sprinter Ben Ashby jumped over 22 feet in the long jump. Olivia Brozefsky won the 1,600 meters in 5:34 for a new personal record, then came back with a time of 2:33 in the 800 meters, then jogged the 3,200 meters to get a much-needed few points to put the Vikings ahead of the Riders in the dual-meet results. The Riders were about half loaded, as they were to travel to the Penn Relays the following day. Zack Simpler won his heat of the 200 meters to the cheering crowd, which was a great sight to see.

CR’s Zoe Scott, a standout 27-second sprinter, 5-foot-2 high jumper, and 32-foot triple jumper when she was on my Beacon team in eighth grade, came running over to Gilbert Maull and me and gave us a hug, saying she missed Beacon track. My favorite Zoe moment during her middle school career was when she led off our mile relay team at the first McKinnon Invite we went to in 2012. In her very first 400 meters, she ran an impressive 1:02.5, giving us a 20-meter lead. The girl is always smiling and so happy, and it was nice to see her healthy and back to the Zoe we remember.

Run for Recovery 5K

The Run for Recovery 5K will be held Saturday, May 6, at Cape Henlopen High School, beginning at 9 a.m. Race-day registration will begin at 7:30 a.m. at Legends Stadium. The event will offer early packet pickup Friday, May 5, from 6 to 8 p.m. at Lefty’s Alley and Eats on Route 1. Pickup your T-shirt and race bib, and enjoy the event special of $10 pizzas and half-price apps (dine-in only, with proof of participation). The event is being sponsored by Attack Addiction out of Lewes, and if you live in the Cape community, you know we have a serious addiction problem. Take some time next Saturday morning and come out to support a great cause as we try to raise awareness of the issue. For more information, go to www.seashorestriders.com.

Upcoming races

• Saturday, April 29 - Second annual Tommy 10K and Daffodil Dash 5K & Kiddie K, Cape May-Lewes Ferry terminal, Lewes, www.races2run.com

• Sunday, April 30 - Fifth annual Big Fish Grill 5K, Rehoboth Beach, www.races2run.com.