Time flies.....

They say, "Time flies when your having fun." I am not sure I can use that line but it is hard to believe that 6 weeks today I had my hip replacement surgery. I went to see my surgeon on Tuesday. They took an x-ray and I got to admit it was pretty cool to see my new hip on the screen. But the best news was when my surgeon (Dr. Steve Dellose) said, "ok wayno....time to get on with your life." "Start hitting golf balls, start going to hot yoga, start walking, but NO running." OK....so I went to my first hot yoga class in 7 weeks. I was thrilled with how much I could do. I would say 95% of the exercises I could handle. Of all the exercise I do the one that tires me out the most is walking. I can handle a half hour on the stationary bike or the EFX machine but walking 3 blocks beats me up. I still have a bit of a limp but that will go away in time. The hardest thing for me to do now is rest. Like they say....day at a time. I am thrilled to be back at the races working the chutes setting up the routes and just being me.....the guy with no more pain.

Beach weekend

Our first 5k in Bethany took place on Saturday. The weather cooperated and we had a really nice turnout for our inaugural 5k for the JWJ Fdn. The Bethany Police Dept were a pleasure to work with as were the volunteers. Doug White measured out a nice two loop route which was of course fast and flat. On Memorial Day we were back in Dewey for our 7th Rusty Rudder 5k held in Ruddertown. We had 225 pre entries and 315 sign ups race morning. The 540 finisher total was the largest 5k in Seven Sister history. Yes....we ran out of beer but still all had a great time. I always enjoy heading to the beach for my work. At the Rusty Rudder 5k it was like a homecoming for Barb and I. We get to see all our friends who we have not seen since last seasons series. Talking about series......JR Ward who is handling the series updates and I have come up with a point system ranking for age groups. First place in age group gets 10 points, second place 9 points, all the way to 1 point for showing up. This way the faster runners don't always win and this gives the folks who run all the events a better chance to place in overall standings. Most points win. We have also changed our Michelob Ultra Race to the Finish Line Series to point system standings. June 14th at North Beach is our next beach run. The Inaugural Outlet Liquors 5k. Also, a new 5k we have picked up is the Inaugural Greene Turtle Lewes 5k on Sunday, August 23rd. This event is also part of our Michelob Ultra Series. Come thirsty!

Negative splits

One of the beauties of chip timing is getting your splits. At our DE Marathon we had timing mats at the 5 mile mark and the 13.1 mile mark and most runners went over the mats again at the 18 mile mark. Not only is this good for the runners to see how they keep pace but also another way we try and weed out those who either cheated or cut the course by mistake. At Sunday's marathon we had a few runners who ran negative splits. I don't mean a minute or two I mean 15 minutes. When I see that the red flag goes up. Here are two examples:

F35-39 1:47:12 8:11 1:35:23 7:17 3:22:35 7:44 3:22:39
M20-24 2:23:16 10:57 1:52:07 8:34 4:15:22 9:45 4:15:26

I contacted both of these runners and here are their answers:

I got your Email this morning.I ran the 1st half at a slow pace and then the 2nd half I really picked it up felling good.at around 20 or 22 miles I did stop to use the potty bathroom so I may have made a wrong turn but coming out of it but don't remember doing so.I thank you for such a lovely marathon.it was so well done and the course was lovely.I run a lot of marathon each year and this was such a nice one.thank you.

Yea, I was really tired. After I came out of the woods around mile 21, I took a left and went to the finish. Sorry if I wasn't suppose to do that. I wanted to see the crowd cheer so I still finished the final quarter mile.

Both were dq'ed. I don't get it....but at least they were honest when I asked them if they ran the complete course. I always give folks the benefit of the doubt. If asking why we did not post the 5 mile splits this was just for us to get a sense of pace for all runners heading out on route.

The day after.....

I feel like I ran the marathon.....guess I should not have been on my feet so much on Sunday but just one of those days. A bit sore. All in all I believe things went well considering the new venue, the new two loop route and the addition of the half marathon. The four person relay continues to add excitement to this event. Just have to work on transition area next year. And expect a new route for the relay. Plenty of tail gate parties going on during and after the race which is cool. We just have to tweak a few things for next year. With 3 events going on at the same time it can get a bit hectic. Our volunteers continue to amaze me. Most were with us for at least 5 hours! I would say one comment that was repeated to me by many out of town runners, "I had no idea how beautiful a City Wilmington was till I ran this race." This was one of my goals. Show off our jewel of a city.....Wilmington. I will share with you emails that I receive in my next blog.

Contdown.....one day to go.

Yesterday was spent mostly at Tubman Park getting ready for race packet stuffing. We had 22 volunteers help with this plus another 6 vols working on the start and finish line towers. Today starting at 11 am is race packet pick up. I am heading out to re chalk the route using yellow spray chalk. I am forced to use spray chalk since we are expecting rain today and into tonight with showers Sunday morning. I normally use field chalk but that would wash away with the rain. I always enjoy packet pick up. Most of our work is done and only back up phone calls are to be made. I enjoy talking to the runners as they pick up their race packets. They come from all over the US and all have a story to tell. I always introduce myself as wayne kursh, "race director." The runners are amazed that I am the race director and would take the time to chat with them and answer their questions. That is why I am here.....to make your trip to Wilmington as easy and enjoyable as possible. Don't forget to stop by Joe's Crab Shack from 5 to 7 pm for our pasta diner. So far we have 250 reservations. Good luck runners.....I hope you enjoy the new course and your stay in Wilmington.

Two days to go

It is Friday before the marathon. I just picked up the Spalco box truck. Waiting for volunteers to help load up. 2300 tee shirts, signage for course, banners for finish line area, goodie bag items, step ladders, and of course duct tape. Once loaded I head to Tubman Park and leave the truck tillI I return it on Sunday afternoon. Today at Tubman tents are set up, finish line towers are set up, tables and chairs are in place, 20 porta potties are delivered to start finish area, City of Wilmington Show Mobile is put in place, vendor tents put up, dumpster arrives and is now in place. NKS drops off the Michelob Ultra beer truck loaded with 12 kegs of beer and 2000 pint glasses. Grotto Pizza's "BIG RED" will be arriving around noon. At 5 pm volunteers from the YMCA Black Achievers and students from Cecil County Community College will help stuff goodie bags. Grotto Pizza will be served. So much to do ......unreal.

Team effort

Only days now before our Delaware Marathon. Joel and I both agree that so far so good. We just hope for nice dry cool weather. The emails still come in with folks asking to run the event. The check list of to do is getting smaller. The volunteer groups continue to grow. The phone calls continue to be answered. But this is not just the Wayne and Joel show. It is a team effort which makes our Delaware Marathon Running Festival a success. We have 5 water stops on the course. Teams of high school students will work these stops. We have the PCVRC working the course around Bancroft Parkway. We have the Buckley Strider's working the course in Wawaset Park. We have the Trail Dogs working the course around the Riverfront. We have Joe Atz working with his team around the Brandywine River. And we have 55 Wilmington Police Officers working the key intersections of the course. At the finish line and hospitality tent we have more high school teams to pass out medals and refreshments. In fact Mrs. Delaware, Marci McNair will be there to greet you when you finish. Our medical team consists of volunteers from title sponsor Christiana Care. Also on route will be teams of Christiana Care ham radio operators in communication with medical and police in case of emergency. If running we wish you luck. If volunteering I say, "thank you." If looking to volunteer please contact me. I look forward to race day a bit nervous but knowing my teams of volunteers are ready to go. See you all Sunday.

ERG

This year at our DE Marathon we are using a new sports drink called Vitalyte (available at New Balance DE in Brandywine Commons). I use the term "new" but this company has been around a long time. Doug White introduced me to this product back in 1977. It was then called Gookinad ERG named after the inventor Bill Gookin, a marathon runner, scientist, and teacher. The ERG stands for Electrolyte Replacement with Glucose. Over the years the name changed to Hydrolyte then to Vitalyte. Back in 1977 when I ran the New York City Marathon I drank a glass of ERG prior to race start then when I finished I drank about 24oz. of the lemon flavor. Wow! What a pick me up. I felt like I just had a IV placed in my arm. I have been a customer ever since. The following year I was in San Diego for the Mission Bay Marathon. I went to the expo and met the owner / inventor Bill Gookin. What a nice guy who invented a simple product that works. How did the DE Marathon come to use Vitalyte? The marketing director called me and asked if we would be interested in using Vitalyte as our sports drink for the marathon. As a huge fan I said, "yes." Plus the product was donated. We will be using the lemon flavor at all water stops on the marathon route. It is not too sweet and has NO after taste. I am sure you will agree....this stuff works! Drink up.

Great idea!

Four years ago I went on a golf trip to Tampa, Florida. The resort we were staying at was also the host of the PODS Golf Championship the week before we arrived. Sitting on the deck of my condo overlooking the golf course I could not help but notice all these POD storage containers placed through out the golf course. I really could not figure out why they were on the course then it hit me.....advertising. Yes...the main sponsor of this golf tournament was PODS. Duhhhh. I checked my voice box later that day and I received a phone message from a friend of mine who was involved with a PODS competitor. PACK RAT (1-800-PACK-RAT). He wanted to know if PACK RAT could display a container at our marathon. I called him back and asked him, "could he place 4 of these containers around the marathon route." He asked why? "Water stops" was my answer. Great advertising for PACK RAT......and perfect storage for our water stops. We could place our 5 gal. bottles of water, tables, cups, and trash containers , plus volunteer tee shirts in a container....give the head volunteer the key.....and WOW....instant self contained water stop. This saved us much stress and volunteer time. RAT PACK would deliver the self contained water stop to each location. I emailed Phil Stewart of Road Race Management newsletter about this great idea....his email back, "your the second race director to use this method of setting up water stops....the other being Dave McGillivray, race director for the Boston Marathon." His final comment...."great race directors think alike." At least I am in good company.

phone vs emails.....

In the old days prior to email I use to be really good at returning phone calls. I have a voice box on my business line that lets me retrieve my messages anywhere in the world. I am always amazed at the time of day folks would leave me a message.....guess runners out there don't sleep much....or do they think I would answer my phone at 1:45 am? Either way I would always make it a point to return ALL calls. Folks were always saying, "thank you for returning my call." I always got a kick out of that line. Why? Because it is my business to return your call and answer your questions. Now....lets fast forward to today's world. Cell phones have taken over the land lines and emails have become one of the best ways to communicate. (I also text message to my friends). I must admit.....I don't return phone calls as fast asI use to since I only check my voice messages once or twice a day. But answering emails is a way of life for me. I use the Apple i-phone to check my emails on a daily basis when out of my office and to surf the web. I just love being able to get back to folks with answers to their questions. Now I get the quote on my email response, "thank you so very much for responding so fast to my question." This is the way I run my business. If you have questions.....I have answers. So....if you really want a quick response from me send me an email......the returned phone calls come later in the day.

What is your excuse?

Just thought I'd share a few of the emails I received from those looking to get into our DE Marathon:

This is my sad story.
I couldn't believe it but - when I checked my files - I found that, I had neglected to register, and now registration is closed
I hope that, in these circumstances, you might forgive my memory lapse and allow me to register.

Is there any way I can get registered for the Marathon? My daughter and I were going to go to the race together. We have already made our hotel reservation. She is running the half and I was going to run the marathon. When I tried to sign up about two weeks ago I had trouble with the website. I didn’t know if it was my home computer or just something I was doing wrong. I meant to try registering on my work computer but obviously forgot. At 66 years old, I guess you call that a senior moment.My wife and I had been expecting our first child (due 4/29) and I wanted to make sure everything was good before I signed up (which I was hoping I could do by 5/10). Anyway, our baby girl was born this past Wednesday, I ran my last 20 mile run yesterday, got permission from my wife to run the race, and was set to sign up this morning. If there is any way you can allow me to participate in the race, I would be very, very appreciative -

OK, I screwed up--I have an airplane ticket, but your marathon's full.

I'm part of a running club that is doing Delaware I had to go to Ireland to see my mom and when I came back it has being filled up ,my group are a little upset with me ,let me know if there is any possibility of getting in if not I understand

I just got back from Boston earlier in the week and had planned on doing the marathon and just went on to register and noticed the marathon was full.

I was planning on running the marathon on May 17th. However, I needed to postpone registering because I am graduating from college the day before and was unsure of travel plans. I had finally decided that I would be able to get to Delaware to race on the 17th, but with my horrible luck, the marathons apparently sold out. Is there ANY possible way I can still register?