The Corn Run, Dogfish and Hurricane Joaquin on its way

The Corn Run 5K was held Sept. 26 through the corn maze at the East Coast Garden Center in Millsboro, attracting a field of 220 runners and walkers for the fourth annual event. The unique course was designed and cut with a tractor and GPS, and, surprisingly, when measured was exactly 3.11 miles in distance.

“This one-loop course was a great change from last year’s out-and-back course because now we can handle a lot more runners with all going the same way,” said Striders runner  Enos Benbow.

Going the right way for sure was regular Martin Rodriguez of Selbyville as he looped the course in 18:18 for the male title, while young Seashore Striders member Emma Barthelmess of Bethany Beach hit the line in 20:57 to win the female title. At 12-years-old, Emma would be one of the top three high school runners in the Henlopen Conference at this point in the season. Ben Champignon of Milton and Sussex Central cross country was second in 19:54, while young Strider Luke Burton, 10, finished third in 20:13. The masters champion title went to Chris Stanley in 20:17.

Following Barthelmess on the female side was Alyssa Pietrobono of Newark in 21:16 for second, while Lisa Sherman of Chevy Chase, Md., was third in 22:43 and the first female masters runner.

The participants enjoyed an action-packed post-race party at the Cordrey Center with beer and brats, fruit, bagels, line dancing, a silent auction, kids' games, music and plenty of East Coast Garden Center tricks of the trade.

Dogfish details

Thousands of runners and spectators converged in Milton Sept. 27 to celebrate a decade of dashes with the running of the Dogfish Dash 8K.

Some numbers in the event that I thought were interesting were as follows: A field of 2,462 entered in the race that sold out April 1 in 6:50. We had 2,024 cross over the starting line and 2,021 cross back over the finish line. We sent out 456 finish text messages and had a 99.85 percent read rate. We had four water stops and used 7,200 biodegradable cups in the race along with 450 gallons of water. Since 2007 the Dogfish Dash has generated more than $200,000 for the Delaware Chapter of The Nature Conservancy: 2014 - $75,000; 2013 - $51,600; 2012 - $38,500; 2011 - $33,500; 2010 - $26,000; 2009 - $25,000; 2008 - $20,000; 2007 - $10,000. More than 100 volunteers helped out in the race and this year a check for $120,000 was presented to the conservancy.

Results can be found at www.seashorestriders.com.

Joaquin 5K

This weekend rain, wind and hurricane weather looks to have an impact on a few events, as the Dolphin Dash 5K is scheduled for Friday night at 5 p.m., the Dewey Does Pink 5K with over 2,000 runners and walkers is scheduled for Saturday, and the Brandywine Creek Youth Cross Country Invite in Wilmington is slated for Sunday. Ironman Maryland has already been rescheduled. Oh yeah, throw the Seagull Century into the mix with more than 1,000 bikers on the roads out of Salisbury. I remember a few years back when Rehoboth Beach was evacuated and the Sea Witch 5K had to be rescheduled to November. Mother Nature will do her thing, and cancellations and postponements are never easy for the race director, but safety of the participants should be the No. 1 priority.

Middle School XC

Beacon Middle School traveled to Camden to race against Postlethwait on the 2.1-mile course, and Beacon lost 20-43 on the boys’ side and 21-38 on the girls’ side. Mariner faced Fifer in Lewes and Fifer won the boys' meet by a score of 22-34 and the girls' meet by a score of 25-36.

In Mariner's first cross country race of 2015, seventh-grade star Lindsay Rambo picked up where she left off last season, demolishing the competition in the Vikings' 25-36 loss to visiting Fifer. Rambo battled muggy conditions to cover the 1.8-mile course in 12:45, more than two minutes clear of the 20-girl field. Rambo blazed a 6:10 opening mile and cruised home, passing 25 boys along the way despite the fact that she started two minutes after them. Fellow seventh-grader Fallon Moore outsprinted two Fifer foes in the final 100 meters to claim second place in 15:07. From there, Fifer used its superior depth to take the next 13 finish cards. Promising first-year runners Akers Turnage (16th, 21:47), Kimmy Cooper (17th, 22:21), Jillian Geiter (19th, 23:40), and Lorna Attalla (20th, 24:25) also placed for the Vikings, who are set for an Oct. 7 showdown with Providence Creek Academy.