Make my day today, same as yours

The eternal present - Three hundred runners, mostly young guns from the Let Me Run clubs of Sussex County, chose the DQ Dash 5K to complete their season May 19 and test their talents under race conditions. The race was created to raise funds for the Lewes fireworks, which take place on the Fourth of July off the beaches of Lewes. There were 128 runners in the 13-and-under age group. Not surprisingly, there were just eight runners in the 70-and-over group, since racing novice little people usually produces bad results for septuagenarians as the younger ones instinctively get underfoot as a race tactic.   

Make my day - There is no “back in my day,” as we all share the same day if we are talking to each other. I was taking finish-line photos for close to an hour May 19, camped beneath the inflated Seashore Striders arch looking like a cheeseburger in a warmer when a discus thrower from my 1985 track team, Ronierre Cirwithian, 55, escorted Cannon Cirwithian, 10, the youngest of Ronnie’s seven grandchildren, across the line. Thirty-eight years later and we reconnected like plugging in grandma's floor lamp, brightening up each of our mornings. Ronnie’s high school nickname was Psycho; he laughed upon reflection and joked, “I was wild, wasn’t I?” Ronnie served around the world while in the military and now works in data security for Beebe and Bayhealth. He described himself as a man of God, and seemed spiritually secure and physically fit. He is a great example of, “Don’t stop believing in people.” He has four daughters and seven grandchildren, and kind of looks like Sinbad. He and Tim Bamforth were on the same track team.  

“Walk This Way” - The Dover High state championship track venue is the zone of locked gates. It doesn't matter if you have a handicapped placard stapled to your hat or are trailing an oxygen tank; if you want access to the infield, you are walking to the far side for common access. It is a carnival with tight controls, which belies the phrase “a carnival atmosphere.” I have a joke, as the last coach of my era still sometimes standing, that one of my behaviors is introducing myself to people I already know, which sometimes boomerangs when people I already know don’t remember who I am. 

Negative split - Jason Baker was closing the gap on the leader in the finals of the Division I 3,200 meters, but he just ran out of track. I focused on his finish, but Kenny Riedel, aka Statman, put the performance in perspective. “He crushed it! That last lap (1:03) was beautiful. And a 4:49.x/4:38.x negative split is as legit as it gets. After the first 1,600, I didn't think he had a shot at sub-9:30. Glad he proved me wrong.” Jason ran 9:28, which is doubly amazing for the sophomore who started his Cape athletic career as a soccer goalie.  

Disaster drill - Bodies of the 3,200-meter fast-heat finishers were strewn atop the outdoor carpet inside the Dover track, and I just panned the carnage of runners, who ignored coaches barking “Stay up!” And then my camera found Mugo Waweru of Smyrna, who was smiling at me after running 10:15. It reinforced what I already know: Some people are just relentless in their happiness, and when you push them to their limits of endurance and exhaustion, they quickly default back to happiness. And that, by the way, is not most people.        

Snippets - This is not a catch-all column, because there is just too much to catch. Sports are spinning my head, but unlike a screech owl who can turn its head 270 degrees, I struggle to reach a right-angle 90 without twisting my torso. NBA Game 7s lost at home by the Knicks and Nuggets – who saw that coming? The Phillies leading the Braves by five games in the NL East is incomprehensible. NCAA men's lacrosse had a double-overtime, sudden-death win by Virginia over Hopkins, then throw in the PGA Championship where a soggy and slow course produced low scores, and a champion named Xander Schauffele finished 21-under par.  Tiger Woods missed the cut. High school state tournaments are all up and running. Tracking them is a full-time job for someone without an actual job. Go on now, git!