The Cape cross country team has a few weeks under its belt and runners have checked off some good-quality workouts as they prep for their first meet of the Henlopen Conference at 3:30 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 21, when the Vikings will travel to Brecknock Park to race the Riders of Caesar Rodney.
For most of the runners on both teams, it will be their first race since February. The Riders and Vikings have put together some of the all-time best dual meets in conference history, and this one will be approached with the same intensity. Katie Kuhlman is the top returning runner, as the sophomore looks to lead a tight, talented pack. Senior Lindsay Rambo, junior Mia Nuebling and junior Elizabeth Melson will keep the Vikings solid. They will also look for contributions from newcomer junior Tia Jarvis and Ariana Adili-Khams, who is coming off an injury and looks to be in the best shape of her running career. At a recent workout of repeat 1K intervals, Kuhlman and Adili-Khams led the way with Jarvis not too far behind.
On the boys’ side of the action, Ethan Edery, Ryan Baker, Julian Callaway and Lance Kauffman will lead the way on a team that I feel can be state contenders when December rolls around. I have no idea what the Riders look like this season, but I do know coach Mike Tucci always has them ready to race. The other fact I know is that Cape has four to five runners who are ready to go sub-17 minutes, and October teams with five runners under 17 have not come across my desk too often in the past 30 years. It should be a fun meet to watch, and I hope visiting spectators are allowed to attend.
Shields Elementary running to Hawaii
Shields is in its fourth rotation, and 20 classes have started their virtual walk/run to Hawaii with the goal to reach the islands that are 4,937 miles away from Lewes. I promised them a Hawaiian hula party when they make it. I will continue to update the public on this challenge. The students are excited about it, and the healthy benefits of walking and jogging for their bodies. Students at Shields are also learning about eating healthy and counting the “go” foods (fruits and veggies) they eat daily.
As of Oct. 14, we have circled the track 5,535 times for 1,107 miles and we are currently in St. Louis. The top five classes remaining the same through their five-day rotation are: 1. Team Libby (third grade) - 566 laps; 2. Team Gannon (fifth grade) - 487 laps; 3. Team Davis (fifth grade) - 430 laps; 4. Team Peet (fourth grade) - 409 laps; 5. Team Catts (fourth and fifth grade) - 403 laps. Stay tuned!
The Great Pumpkin Run
With the cancellation of the popular Sea Witch Fall 5K Classic, an event that has been held at the Grove Park in Rehoboth for 30 years, this year the Seashore Striders will host the inaugural Great Pumpkin 5K at 9 a.m., Halloween morning, Saturday, Oct. 31, at Cape Henlopen State Park in Lewes. The event will be staged in the main beach parking lot, with plenty of room to social distance. It will follow a rolling start, which will be based on runners’ pace per mile or expected pace per mile. The course will be contained within the beautiful state park and participants must wear a mask whenever they are not racing. There will be no race-day registration and participants are asked to pick up their packet at the Lewes library from 4:30 to 6 p.m., Friday, Oct. 30. Following the race, there will not be the traditional award ceremony, but participants will have the option to pick up their award once results are posted. Awards will be available for pickup during the week as well. Long-sleeved T-shirts will go to preregistered runners, while post-race T-shirts will be ordered if needed. State guidelines currently allow for 250 participants, but the Seashore Striders will cap this event at 200, allowing the event to remain under the guidelines with 50 spectators allowed to attend. It is a $1,500 loss in registration income, but we feel that it is the safe and correct thing to do. Go to www.seashorestriders.com to register for the event.
PR at 115 miles on the bike
Talking with my son Jake the other night, he told me about his bike workout with two training partners. They went 115 miles averaging just over 25 mph while climbing 3,000 feet in elevation. He had never broken four hours for that distance until this ride. When he mentioned this to me, I did not really know what it meant, so I reached out to some bikers for their perspective. Many friends of mine who are active bikers chimed in on how impressive the average was for that duration of a ride. Some even researched some Ironman events where many pro riders were averaging 23-24 mph for the 112-mile distance. Granted, the swim and run were not attached, but for me not knowing what bike splits mean, it’s a good start.
