Record Field, Sun, Make Lake-Hugging 'Rerun' Shine
MUSKEGON (6/26/04) - The Chronicle Seaway Rerun? The name is apt if you look at winners. Rob Moore and Jeanne Spitler-Dykman claimed the men's and women's 5K for the 16th and sixth times respectively. Past 15K champs Luke Williams and Janet Becker repeated also.

Add ideal weather (much like last year's) and another record turnout (1,485, up from 1,481 in 2003) and you have a form of eternal recurrence even Nietzsche would not object to.

The winners, as ever, were everyone who took part.

Dead German philosophers were the last thing on Moore's mind this day. The 39-year-old Groveport, Ohio, resident - who has run 21 of the 23 Seaways - held off the challenge of a runner near half his age. Moore, an ex-star at Allendale High School and Cedarville College, won in 15:44, withstanding a late push by Aquinas College's Adam Hoogewind, 20 (15:56).

Spitler-Dykman, 34, a mother of two from Montague, cruised to the women's title in 17:52, topping Danielle Quisenberry (19:01). Quisenberry, fresh out of Central Michigan University, went on to write stories for the next day's Muskegon Chronicle.

Williams, 15K champ in 2002, unfolded his long legs in the longer run and kept going. The Oakland University senior-to-be completed the course - which follows Muskegon Lake, loops at Lake Michigan, bounds on a boardwalk, then comes back - in 50:25. Last year's winner, Jonathan Langworthy of Holland, finished exactly one minute back.

Becker, 30, of Grand Rapids, ran the Boston Marathon and Fifth Third River Bank 25K this spring, and is still recovering. The ex-CMU star's 58:46 was well off her winning times from last year (56:30) and 2000 (57:28), but good enough to beat runnerup Laura Malnor, 17 (1:01:33). Malnor, a senior-to-be at East Grand Rapids, will look to defend her Division 2 Lower Peninsula high school cross country championship this fall.

Other Seaway highlights included Erick Bleakley, 6, of Muskegon, completing the 5K in 37:17, and Ed Berghuis, 87, of Fruitport, doing the same in 1:17:03.

Berghuis shaved almost 18 minutes off his Fruitport Old-Fashioned Days 5K time four weeks earlier. How many young studs can say the same?

Complete results available online at www.gaultracemanagement.com. Also, you can see the race at michigantravel.tv/2004muskegon. MR