Chip times or not.

Get a load of this.....at the Nike Women's Marathon held in San Francisco, the overall winner was not declaired the winner. Huh? Yep...24-year-old Arien O'Connell, a fifth-grade teacher from New York City, ran the fastest time of any of the women. Problem was she did not start with the elite women who started 20 minutes earlier......She ran a 2:55:11 a pr by 12 minutes. At the awards ceremony race officials called out third place winner....then second place winner and then overall winner who ran 3:06. Arien went to race officials who confirmed her time but said that since she did not run in the elite race she was not the official winner. Isn't that what chip timing is all about? I remember a couple years ago at the Caesar Rodney half marathon.....Betsy Carpenter was going to go for a new age group state record in the 50-54 age group. Problem was she started the race about 4 minutes late. But with chip timing she was able to get a gun time and a chip time. We allow chip times for those age 40 and over and Betsy had her record. As a race director i believe that race officials in San Fran made the wrong call. Here is the link to the article in the SF Chronicle.....what do you think?http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/10/21/BAUC13L3GQ.DTL&tsp=1

Homecoming USA

Now that the busy homecoming weekend is over I can get back to a regular work schedule. We had 6 events this past weekend. Four of those homecoming 5k's. Tower Hill, Wilm. Friends School, Ursuline, and Sallies. A marathon relay in Dewey Beach on Saturday plus a 5k in Claymont on Sunday. Wednesday took us to Dover for the 3rd Governor's Cup 5k. This noon start was for state employees as part of the Del A Well program. Aetna and Blue Cross Blue Shield were sponsors. Gov. Minner and Lt. Gov. John Carney were on hand to support the runners and walkers and to say a few words of thanks for all the support over the years. The weather was awesome and we had 301 finishers in the 5k run walk and another 50 in the one mile walk. I saw many of our regular runners and got to chat with the Governor prior to the start. Did you know that Gov. Minner is big on fishing! Guess she will have more time for that once January rolls around.

CCHS Delaware Marathon course update

In an earlier blog i talked about the new 2 loop route for our May 17th DE Marathon that will start and finish at Tubman Park. (next to the Amtrak station) So here is the latest. Doug White is getting very close to certifying for us....This chore has not been easy. When you have a 2 loop route that has to start and finish at the same location plus a section of lap one (Riverfront) that we can not use for second loop ....well....this makes for quite the puzzle. But it is done and i really believe you will just love the new course. To make up distance on the second loop the marathon runners will come back to Tubman Park where the half marathon runners take a left and to the finish line while the marathon runners will continue on the river walk (at Harry's heading south) past the shops and the rowing club to turnaround point. They will come back to Tubman Park the same way and continue on the loop route. I decided that flat is good and that our other choice was using the hills of Rockford Park......so there you have it.....2 loop marathon course....one loop half marathon course and stand alone 4 person relay.....We are going to show off our City of Wilmington like never before! Hope you can join us.

Newbies

First time events are always the most difficult to manage. I go to meetings to make sure everyone is on the same page so when race day comes there are no surprises. Race numbers are assigned, tee shirts are separated for pre and day of event, volunteers are pouring water, safety pins are available, awards are organized, and a course map is posted. At last Wednesday nights Inaugural Delaware Tech 5k on the Riverfront my volunteer crew was outstanding. Everything i asked was taken care of prior to my getting to the registration area. What a pleasure this race was to handle. I was able to walk around and chat with the runners and walkers and do what i love to do....take photos. My goal is always to have nothing to do race day. The less I have to do the better I have done my job. I would say that means to delegate and when it goes right everyone benefits. The photo that I have with this blog are two of the 5 runners who joined me in 1996 to run the Team in Training Mayor's Midnight Sun Marathon in Anchorage, Alaska. Eddie Osienski and Sharon Mossman. Both of them were at the 5k to support Del Tech. It was fun for me to chat with them and catch up. The six of us who went to Alaska to run raised over $36,000 for TNT. And we had a fabulous time together. More on that later......so if you see me hanging out not doing much at my events.....smile.....I may just take your picture.

Chips....not sticks.

It's good to be home. I had a fantastic time in Ireland. I flew into Shannon and stayed 4 nights in Killarney, County Kerry. Played golf and continued on to Lahinch, County Clare for 2 more days of golf. Three sunny days and three rainy days. And yes....it was a wee bit breezy. I visited the pubs and chatted with the locals. The pubs are all NO smoking. The salmon is delicious and the Guinness is a bit warm. In the last few years 1500 pubs have closed. Some say due to the no smoking laws....others say it is the 30% tax on beer and 33% tax on alcohol. I only saw one runner in Killarney but did see a local running club on a training run on the way to the airport. There must have been 12 or so running on a sidewalk all wearing their club colors. The roads over there are so narrow that if two cars pass each other there is no where for the runners to go. The countryside is beautiful. Cows, sheep, bulls, and horses all grazing in the fields. I saw my fair share of castles and was able to explore some of the shops in these small towns. I saw more rainbows in a day than i see in a year here in the states. If you like french fries your in luck....they are called chips and are served piping hot with all entrees. Put a little vinegar on them not salt and ketchup. Pretzel sticks are no where to be found...too American i guess. So it is back to the real world here in Wilmington.....i better get back to work now....

The Bucket List

Maybe you saw the movie? I did....and one one of the things i wanted to do in my life time was play golf in Ireland. So......off I go on Saturday flying into Shannon for a week of golf with my golf pals. So how do i handle 5 events while away? Here's how...... get organized and delegate to my other teams. I will handle the 5k to Fight Cancer in Drexel Hill Saturday morning since my flight does not leave till 9pm. Chip and Doris Bixler help me out when i have mulitiple events. They will handle my other event on Sat at Pro PT in Middletown. My other team is my friend Jon Clifton. Jon will be working the 5k in Newark on Sunday. Chip and Doris will be back in Middletown Sunday for the Variety Club 5k. Next Sat. Jon will assist my Barbie at the 5k for DE Hospice. I am back for the DE Distance Classic on Sunday. To stay organized I always put a bucket together for each event. By bucket i mean a USPS basket to hold the following: race numbers, pens, pre and post race signs, check payable to sign, time machine timer, score sheets, bandit tags, safety pins, cash box, course map, camera, shoe box to place day of apps in and anything else that may be needed. With rain due this weekend chalking the route with white field chalk or spray chalk will not work. Thus i also have stocked for both groups my directional arrows that you stake in the ground. Results for these events will be posted on my website when i return. Let's see.....if race is at 9 am here.....it is 2pm in Ireland.....give one hour to awards ceremony so now it is 10 am your time and 3pm Ireland time...or time for a Guiness! See you when i get home.

The 3 B's (no pun intended)

The 3 B's......Beer, benedryl, and a bagel.....that is what i needed following the 10k portion of the Dog Fish Brewery race on Sunday in Rehoboth. Since i continue with physical therapy on my hips (tendonitis) i decided not to run in the 5k but to walk the 10k. I was really excited to be able and walk the new "trail" that was part of the race route. For the 8 am start i decided to start at 7:20 am. This way i would not hold up volunteers etc with an expected finish time of hour and a half. I had my fanny pack with water, cliff bar, and power gel. The course was well marked so i had no problem finding my way.....the trail is really peaceful. Listening to my i-pod I was walking a 14:20 pace. At the turnaround a group of women was setting up the water stop......I said thank you for your help and continued on my way back to the finish line. I figured i would get a good look of those running the 10k since i was heading home and they were heading out. The lead biker came by and a pack of 3 followed. I really enjoyed cheering on my friends. I looked at my watch 14:17 mile pace from mile 3 to 4. I rounded a bend in the road when out of no where a swarm of bees (hornets?) got me. I sprinted to get away from them but got stung pretty good on my hamstring, hip, thigh, groin, and butt. Ouch....To make matters even worse I dropped by I-pod nano and had to go back to where the bees were to retrieve. Once back to the finish i got some ice and started to ice down the areas where i was stung. I waited for Barb as she too ran in the 10k. When Barb came in we went over to the para medics who told us to go purchase some benedryl. Barb went to the 7-11 down the street. I went inside the bar to have a beer and a bagel. The benedryl and advil seemed to work. I would say that over 50 or so runners got stung...it was the talk of the post race party. Too bad since the race itself was a blast. Not sure what a race director can do.....Maybe change the route next year? I guess time will tell but i doubt i will partake next year if route is the same. Mike Holloway, XC coach at Sanford School said it best, "talk about a real pain in the ass" was his comment as he iced down his butt.