Two new events may bring a tear to your eye

There are two new events in early 2019, one in early March and one a month later in early April, and both are for great causes, enough to put a tear in your eye.

The first I featured last week: the Race for Coach Nic 5K, which will be held at 10 a.m., Saturday, March 9, at Sussex Tech High School in Georgetown. Proceeds of the Coach Nic 5K will benefit the cross country/track & field teams as well as the Lou Nicoletti Scholarship to be presented to a senior track & field athlete at the annual end-of-year sports awards ceremony.

This week, I am going to feature another new event on the schedule that a former runner of mine, Sussex Academy junior Lindsey Guida, is directing and hosting as a part of her CAS Project at school. “I have run a lot of races, so I wanted to do a race for my school project and make it honor my grandfather, who has Parkinson’s Disease,” said Lindsey, who will also be working with friend Mackenzie Cummings. “I’m hoping a lot of teachers and students will come out from the area schools and participate so we can make a lot of money for the charity.”

The Power 2 Parkinson 5K will be held at 8:30 a.m., Sunday, April 7, at Sussex Academy High School on the SAS cross country course. Sussex Academy is located off Route 9 at 21150 Airport Road, across from the Sand Hill Road CHEER Center. 

Registration will be $22 through Friday, April 5, with race-day registration for $25 from 7:30 to 8:25 a.m. at Sussex Academy. Awards will be presented to the overall and masters finishers as well as the top three age-group finishers.

For more race information and to register online, go to www.seashorestriders.com or call Race Director Lindsey Guida at 240-888-0526.

This area, as many know, is a mecca for road racing with races coming from the Seashore Striders, Races2Run, Focus Multisports and Fusion all in our little Sesame Street village we call home. Thousands of dollars are raised each year with some great events for runners to choose from in a 10-mile radius.  

It brings a tear to my eye when I think of a high school that is honoring a longtime coach, a man who has touched thousands of kids’ lives through 40 years of teaching and coaching, who is living the final chapter of his life in an adult living facility after suffering from the effects of a brain tumor. I get a very similar feeling when I think of a healthy high school junior girl who wants to honor her grandfather, a man who means the world to her, who is living with Parkinson’s Disease. We are hoping to spread the word and attract a crowd of runners to her Georgetown school so she can make a nice donation to the Parkinson’s Foundation. Two great new races to add to the pile of already great events.

Race note: Also on April 7 in Lewes, Races2Run will host the second annual Big Gun Run 4.25-Miler. The race will be at 10 a.m. from Fort Miles to Big Oyster Brewery on Kings Highway in Lewes. It is a 13.1-mile half-marathon drive, if my calculations are correct, from Sussex Academy to the Big Oyster Brewery and another 4.25-mile hike to the start at Fort Miles. With only a 25-minute drive between races, there is a good possibility that an energized runner could support both great events and be home to watch ESPN by noon. The NCAA Basketball Final Four is also happening this weekend!

Track season around the corner

Cape Henlopen track & field teams, with Matt Lindell (boys) and George Pepper (girls) at the helm, will start practice Friday, March 1, as the list is full, physicals are getting finalized and training shoes are being bought. The Cape Vikings will kick off the season Monday, March 25, with a visit to the much-improved Golden Knights of Sussex Central, led by Derek Shockro and Jen Cawthern.

“We have a good group of kids coming back, and several are working hard in the off-season trying to get themselves ready,” said Shockro. “We hope to get several good athletes from both basketball teams that will definitely help us out.”

The Mariner Middle School team, led by coach Kenny Riedel, will team up with my Beacon team to host a huge five-team middle school meet that you could call a mini invitational. Joining Beacon and Mariner will be Georgetown, Millsboro and Milford.   

“This is normally a meet we would have at the end of the season, but scheduling is tough, so we have to have it early,” said assistant coach Jamie Loucks. 

“There will be 600 middle school athletes competing and another 1,000 spectators at Legends Stadium, which will be cool and exciting for track & field in this area,” added coach Gilbert Maull.

The first meet could be the largest meet of the season for middle school or high school competition at Cape.

Beacon runner getting ready

Seventh-grader Lainey Shockro of Beacon burst onto the middle school track & field scene last year and won every 800-meter race she started. Lainey knows her future is in track & field and to accomplish what she wants, she knows she has to get stronger. Lainey ran 28 seconds in the 200 meters, 1:08 in the 400 meters, and 2:39 in the 800 meters as a rising sixth-grader last season. “I am going after the Beacon 800-meter record of 2:33 [Hannah Pepper, 2006], and I know I am not ready just yet. I still need to get stronger. Coach B says it is one of the most impressive middle school records in the state,” said Lainey. 

Lainey dedicated herself to trainer Chris Antonio last fall and into the winter and has continued working out in the weight room each week trying to get herself ready for this spring season.

“I will run anything to help the team out, but my coaches know that the 800 meters is my race,” said Lainey. “I am hoping to be able to go well into the 2:30s in the 800 and get close to the record this year. It will be fun to get close this season, but if not, I still have my eighth-grade year, too.”

Only time will tell for Shockro, and she is hoping that time is 2:32.9.