St. Patrick’s Day running events are always a fun affair

This month we will celebrate St. Patrick’s Day by wearing green and drinking green shakes, while some will drink green beer and sing and dance to St. Paddy songs. For a runner looking for a St. Patrick’s Day event, there are three in the area from which to choose that always seem to attract a nice, fun crowd. Some runners will run the triple and compete in all three, while others will choose just one or two. Here is a look at the three events just around the corner:

Sunday, March 10 – The seventh annual Lucky Leprechaun 5K will take place in downtown Milton from Irish Eyes, beginning at 11 a.m. The race will kick off a fun day in town as the annual St. Patrick’s Day parade begins at 2 p.m. Registration is $35, with race day priced at $40. Early packet pickup and late registration will take place Saturday, March 9, from 4 to 6 p.m. at Irish Eyes in Milton and also on race morning from 10 to 11 a.m. The race will benefit the Milton Chamber of Commerce, the Milton Fire Department and the Gladys Wilkins Seeding the Future Scholarship Fund. Go to races2run.com for more race information.

Saturday, March 16 – The 12th annual St. Patrick’s Day 5K, 1-mile fun run/walk, and 200-meter Leprechaun Dash will take place in Denton, Md., beginning at 9 a.m. Registration opens on-site at 7:30 a.m. Registration check-in and on-site registration will be located in the gym at the General James F. Fretterd Community Center, 107 S. 4th St., rain or shine. The 200-yard Leprechaun Dash starts at 8:30 a.m. All net proceeds benefit the youth registration financial aid fund for summer enrichment programs produced by Caroline County Recreation & Parks. Registration for the 5K is $27 in advance and $32 after March 8. Tech T-shirts are available in men’s and women’s cuts, along with festival giveaways, lucky pre-race crafts and face painting, door prizes, live music. Go to seashorestriders.com for more race information.

Sunday, March 17 – The 13th annual Shamrock Shuffle 10-Miler & 5K will take place behind Tanger Outlets Oceanside beginning at 9 a.m. The 10-miler is a new, more popular distance, as we eliminated the 15K. Join the Seashore Striders for this early spring event on the beautiful Junction & Breakwater Trail, part of Cape Henlopen State Park. A great long run for those training for the Seashore Classic Half Marathon in early May, Co-Del events in April, OC Half in April, and DE Marathon in May. Preregistration for the 5K is $25 through Friday, March 15, and $35 for the 10-miler. Race-day registration begins at 7:30 a.m. New for 2019 are a custom-printed long-sleeved T-shirt and custom-made St. Patrick’s Day plaques for the age-group winners. Go to seashorestriders.com for more race information.

Blazing 600-meter American record

On the same track where the Cape girls competed twice this season, high school superstar Athing Mu out of New Jersey ran to a new high school national record, a new American record, a new U18 record, a new World Junior record and a new World Lead record by clocking a time of 1:23.57 in the 600 meters. The meet was the USA Indoor Championships at the Ocean Breeze Facility in Staten Island, N.Y. Mu shattered by nearly three seconds her own preliminary win of 1:26.23 set on Saturday, which reset the high school national record that had stood since 2017. 

There are no two ways around it: Mu's run on Sunday was jaw-dropping, out-of-your-seat, did-she-just-do-that entertainment. The only record she did not break was the World Record, missed by only .13.

Minutes after the race was live on TV, I received a message from Mariner coach Kenny Reidel: “I just watched what might have been the most impressive high school race ever in the history of track & field.”

CRNs donate to three charities

The Certified Running Nuts, a local group addicted to running, participated in its annual pub crawl in Rehoboth Beach during the Christmas holiday, and then left the window open during January for more donations to trickle in. As members walked the town from establishment to establishment dressed in their holiday attire, donations were being accepted for three different charities they had chosen, and a total of $650 was raised. At the end of the event, the group, in cooperation with the Seashore Striders, sent checks this week to Sussex Family YMCA, Food Bank of Delaware and the family of Jaxton Justice, grandson of local runner Leeann Waltz.     

Big numbers out for Cape MS track

Mariner coach Kenny Reidel informs me that he has more than 70 students signed up for spring track, which is a good turnout for any middle school team. Beacon has 135 signed up with more than 80 of them on the girls’ roster. That is a quarter of the school’s population signed up for one spring sport. It’s a good problem to have, but logistics are tougher than a flight of hurdles when you start to talk about uniforms, transportation, parent permission forms and physicals. Has anyone seen how much room 135 full book bags take up?