Music and 5K at White Clay Creek
2011-07-20 Wednesday 6:00pm
Location: White Clay State Park
Join us for a 5k Fun Run at White Clay State Park followed by music in the park hosted by Tom and Paula Jermyn.
Directions: 880 New London Rd, Newark.. which is actually 896 just outside of Newark heading to PA. We are meeting at Carpenter Park in the grove area- not the pavillion
The Race will start at 6:00pm and be followed by music in the park starting at 6:30pm.
Pizza, salad and water/gatorade will be provided by the Jermyn’s.
If you are planning on staying to enjoy the music please bring a lawn chair or blanket.
There is a fee to park at White Clay. For more information regarding this send questions to
Editor’s comment: I for one have been very cognizant of the heat while running in the evening. It is projected to be 90 degrees or higher by 6:00 tomorrow evening. So no one should feel that they HAVE to run. You can always come out, perhaps take an easy walk while others are running, and still enjoy the food and music.
The last week slow running news-wise, so it was the first time in a long time that I skipped a bulletin for a week.
A note of condolence on behalf of PCVRC was sent to Doug White, a former president of Pike Creek Valley Running Club, on the passing of his mother.
BBQ Recap
The club thanks Rachel Bleacher for hosting the annual picnic last Saturday. Well over 30 people attended. Club secretary Jerry Herman is to be commended for dutifully handling the grilling chores.
McCorq’s Friendly 5K Fun Run will be the next club event after tomorrow. It will be on Thursday, September 1, to help you kick off the Labor Day weekend. To those unfamiliar with the event, it’s a handicapped run based on your best 5K time in the last year. My motto is everyone is a winner. If you have prizes to donate, contact me. In a later bulletin the full instructions will be printed. Meanwhile they can be viewed here:
https://www.pcvrc.com/eventlistitem.php?id=13. Any questions, after reading the info, may be sent to .
Merrell Down and Dirty Mud Run, Philadelphia
— From Dirk Sweigart:
This may be the most fun I ever had doing a 5K (which was good since the Double Trouble 15K Trail Run the week before may have been the least fun I’ve had in a long time!) The whole environment of mud, sun, racing and music was just terrific. There was a 10K at 7 AM (which I will try to do next year). The 5K runners started at 8:15 in self-seeded wave starts that were totally not crowded and worked really well. I went in the 3rd corral. I had watched some of the 10K runners finish in the mud pit so I knew a little of what was coming.
The race starts pretty easily with a long running portion, quick uphill then long downhill with only one crawl under some netting. No problem and I was hitting a pretty good stride. Weather was perfect – sunny and not too humid. We covered a good distance with only a climb up a ladder wall and a quick hop over a chest high barrier. There were some tunnels that were out of commission, so we skipped them. But then the fun stuff started!
I don’t remember the exact order – there was some cargo netting to go up, but then came the first mud pit. Well, I flopped into that and crawled through, but getting under the last rope, I stuck my head in the mud and staggered out of the pit almost totally unable to see with mud in my hair and eyes. I gained 3-4 pounds of weight in my socks too…and immediately started up a steep grade. Now I was passing walkers from the 10K. That made me feel good. Plus I was able to get the mud out of my eyes.
A few more hills and then I came down to the finish. There was a sloped platform with a knotted rope that went by quickly and I ducked under the netting to splash into the final long mud pit (in front of hundreds of people, of course). I lost some time there. crawling, it was hard on the knees. Not sure how I can practice to get any better at this! But I went over the final mud hill and slid down towards the finish. I literally could not see due to mud in my eyes when I went across the finish line. They handed me a water bottle and I poured it on my face – and it did almost no good at all. I was done but perhaps not recognizable as everyone around me looked like similar brown zombies.
It took a while to hose all the mud off (and out of my hair, eyes and ears). With the hundreds of other people – that was actually a lot of fun. There was a place to change your clothes (liked their bag check) and I got my Subaru burger (they should stick to cars!) Then I went and listened to the concert for a while. New clean people kept starting the race and unrecognizable mud slugs kept coming in for the finish.
There were a few other Pike Creekers there and I’ll let someone else report their times because we had some awards. My time was never reported but I know about what it was and I was quite pleased. I might have been in the running for an age place if it had been. But I don’t really care – I am going back next year for the 10K! Just have to figure out how to get through those pits better – or not!
Race Results:
Delaware Hospice Anniversary 5K
23:07 Theresa Kauffman, 2nd overall female and first female master
Catherine Rooney’s 5K for Ulster Project
16:16 Dan Suher, Overall Winner
18:02 Greg Cauller, 4th overall and first master
20:14 Lynn Knothe
Kelly Fritchman Memorial 5K
17:33 Greg Cauller, Overall Winner
19:25 Lynn Knothe, Overall female Winner
Dewey Beach Liquors at the Cork 5K
15:59 Mark Vilardo, Overall Winner
17:49 Greg Cauller, 2nd male master
19:37 Lynn Knothe, second overall female
Editor’s occasional note about race results: I generally try to print all club member results from races which are 15K or longer or all club member results from races which are part of the MA-USATF series, regardless of the length of race. But there are too many 5Ks, 5 milers and 10Ks to be printing the results of all club members for these events. Club results from those races are generally limited to some top overall club finishers. However, any result, which is important to a club member for some particular reason, will be printed if you send it to me.