Runners dial up their inner beast at Sea Witch Half Marathon

Release inner beast - Lauren Pollock, 21, of Middletown, was the overall women’s winner at the Sea Witch Half Marathon Oct. 27,  running 1:32.07. Lauren flexed The Hulk pose when she ran past me at mile 6,  where I nestled on the trail by the Herring Point parking lot. I also talked with overall winner Sean Saxton, 26, before his race. Sean dominated, running 1:16:55.  I think he was using the event as a tempo run for an upcoming full triathlon Ironman. Sean complimented me for always being out there somewhere, adding, “It keeps you young.” If that is the case, I’m a teenage silverback. 

Blind runner - I saw runner Ian Fleming at the starting line Oct. 26 at the Sea Witch 5K . He was wearing a vest that read “Blind” and was tethered to Anthony Swierzbinski of the Delaware Running Company. Together, they ran 22:35. Author Ian Fleming created the character James Bond. Runner Ian Fleming also came to us from England. A decade or so ago (could have been longer),  Ian was winning some local races. He knew me and my size 8 head, so I entered his orbit and grabbed his non-tethered wrist to say, “It’s so good to see you,” and he just smiled. I later talked to another familiar face from the running scene, saying, “It’s so good to see you," and he said, “Likewise,” then left.  I still have no idea who he was and I presume still is. 

“Get out of town!” - That’s what I bellowed groggily from the short sofa into an empty room with a cathedral ceiling near the stroke of midnight. I posted the same words on Facebook. Friends still up close to midnight went thread bare with a composite response. Many made references to Kirk Gibson in 1988. Gibson hit a walk-off home run in game 1 of the World Series in spite of a torn hamstring. The great Vin Scully was on the call, “I can’t believe what I just saw. In a year that has been so improbable, the impossible has happened." “Get out of town” is an old expression of shock, surprise or disbelief. Mookie Betts gets walked in the bottom of the 10th inning to load the bases. There are two outs. The Yankees are clinging to a 4-3 lead. Freddie ropes the first pitch for the win. No one talks of prayers or hail marys. Yankees pitcher Nestor Cortes (nicknamed Nasty Nestor) intentionally walks to his own dugout. 

Hail Mary - Most non-Catholic sports fans think a Hail Mary is a long, final desperation pass at the end of the game with no time on the clock. They don’t realize it’s a prayer. Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels sent his thoughts and prayers 52 yards into the end zone where a child called Noah Brown caught the ball for a touchdown and the game winner in an 18-15 thriller. Daniels was as cool as the inside of a Gatorade bucket afterward, saying, “It’s just God.” The theologians can knock around the various concepts of god and whether deities of the universe are some heavenly version of FanDuel.  

Snippets - Wilson Ingerski (Cape), a freshman kicker at Shippensburg, set a school record with a 54-yard field goal, but the Raiders lost to Bloomsburg 20-10. Addy Basile (Cape and Dewey Beach lifeguard) plays forward for the Ohio University Bobcats field hockey team. She scored her first collegiate goal in a 2-1 victory over Davidson. Maryland field hockey beat visiting Richmond 3-0 on Senior Day Oct. 27. Grace Wiggins, straight outta Cape and the Dewey Beach Patrol, was on the field for the Spiders, while Delmar cousins Josie Hollamon and Maci Bradford ran the pitch for Maryland. Former Cape lacrosse teammates and Dewey Beach Patrol mates Mikey Frederick (Mercer) and Hunter Jones (Rollins) met at a fall ball scrimmage Saturday in Macon, Ga. Salisbury University football ran its record to 7-0 with a 42-35 Homecoming win over Rowan. Senior captain Jaden Davis (Cape) started in the backfield for the Gulls. Fred Thomas field hockey (8-0-1) won at Smyrna (7-2) 3-0 Oct. 25, behind a hat trick from Sara Caldwell. I was there as a Fredpop who owns a big camera. The DAAD Middle School Invitational cross country meet is set for Wednesday, Oct. 30, at Killens Pond State Park. “I'm guessing four races starting with JV at 3:30. It will be about 16 teams and over 1,000 runners,” chip-timing Tim Bamforth said. I am on the record having said, “Middle school cross country will never catch on.” Go on now, git!