Runner’s high is crystal-clear sobriety for early-morning races

Dewey never sleeps - Dewey isn’t the town that never sleeps, but the town that sleeps in shifts. At 7:30 a.m., July 4, 500 runners busted loose for the Dewey Beach Liquors 5K. There is a certain irony naming a running race after a liquor store, but alcohol is not intrinsically bad. You can bet your fuzzy navel on that. Later, on July 6, another 500 ran the Firecracker 5K in Rehoboth Beach. If you were hungover, undercover in a dark room at 7:30, you were missing the greatest high life has to offer, and that is sobriety. There are lots of runners who use the sport as a road to recovery. Church is over ...

Climate change - I’m talking about the social climate, not the heat and humidity, and I’m still wrestling with the discrepancy between the absolute temperature and when it feels 10 degrees hotter. Why not just say it – the fatter you are, the hotter it feels. The post-pandemic depression has produced a culture of criticisms, just too many people complaining about the inefficiency of systems, from traffic patterns to roundabouts to the statewide structure of scholastic sports. Oddly enough, I covered two 5K races and a Boardwalk biathlon over four high-heat days featuring more than 1,200 athletes, and you know how many complaints were directed at me or shared with me? How about none, because the people in those events were too busy pushing themselves beyond their comfort zone and paying good money to do it.

Legendary Louie - Working the finish line at the Rehoboth biathlon July 7, I was jousting with some older muppets sitting on a Boardwalk bench. There was Woody – we go back nearly 50 years, having worked on the RBP together – and the other guys I didn't know and, remarkably, they didn’t know me back. But I soon realized one was legendary Louie Gouvas of Louie’s Pizza, the establishment that used to be George’s Lunch. Louie is now 86 and all the way there – a very entertaining restaurateur and raconteur. There were medals left over from the kids’ race, so with Tim Bamforth’s permission, I had Woody present one to Louie before taking his picture. A local gentleman who deserves a medal and still has no idea who I am. 

Eight-game lead - The Phillies left Atlanta with an eight-game lead over the Braves with three home games versus the Dodgers then three versus the Athletics before the all-star break. I call it “crack in the windshield.” How quickly a team can go from looking like a World Series favorite to a team that just can’t hit or pitch. The Phillies scored one run in 18 innings the last two games in Atlanta. No wonder I was watching Wimbledon tennis only to see Coco Gauff and Madison Keys go down in defeat. 

Lost in translation - I’m still not sure what to make of travel teams, but as a writer, I’ve always found it difficult to capture the relatability of any sports teams and leagues that exist beyond school sports. The home runs or goals scored ride away on the summer winds once school sports start. And from my experience and observations, there are more tripping coaches in travel than in school sports, where there is just more accountability.   

Snippets - There are field hockey day camps coming around on the wheel at Champions Stadium. There will be a high school camp from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., July 15 to 18. The following week brings an elementary/middle school camp from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., July 22 to 25. The high school camp closes each session with full-field scrimmages, which are better and more talent-laden than most games during the regular season. Speaking of valedictorians who are goalies, Cape's Morgan Newcomb is going to Georgetown but will not play hockey. Graduated Cape seniors who plan to play hockey this fall are Hannah Maney at Iowa, Grace Wiggins at the University of Richmond, Addy Basile at Ohio University and Devon DeGregory at Salisbury University. Kenny Pickett is the new backup quarterback for the Eagles, acquired from Pittsburgh. Pickett will make about $2 million per season on his two-year contract, along with a new iPad. Go on now, git!