Chilly drizzle and gusty winds were not enough to deter 118 competitors from racing in the 32nd Annual Seaside Shuffle 5k Nov. 23 in Wrightsville Beach.
The women’s division began at 1 p.m. Competitors lined up near the intersection of Waynick Boulevard and Causeway Drive and raced south to U.S. Coast Guard Station Wrightsville Beach and back, splashing over the rain-drenched asphalt.
At the front of the pack, 11-year-old Makayla Obremski, who set a state record for her age group in the race two years ago, kept pace with 54-year-old Brenda Estlack. They opened up a lead on the rest of the participants.
It was a familiar pattern for Obremski and Estlack. As fellow members of the Wilmington Road Runners Club they race against one another frequently, seemingly alternating the order of finish each time.
During the final 100 yards of the Seaside Shuffle, Obremski was able to gain the lead. She lengthened her stride and won the race with a final time of 20:54. As Estlack sprinted across the finish line seconds later, she immediately reached over to give Obremski a high-five.
“She’s a good little runner,” Estlack said. “She made me have a good run today. You cross the finish line and say ‘Thank you,’ because you push each other.”
For Obremski, running competitively was a goal imagined at a very young age. Although she ran her first 5k when she was 7, her love of racing likely began long before that. Her mother, Marsha Obremski, described pushing her daughter along in a stroller as she herself trained for races.
“She couldn’t wait to get out of the stroller,” Obremski said. “As soon as she was big enough to get out of the stroller, she wanted to run beside the stroller.”
The men’s division of the Seaside Shuffle began at 1:45 p.m. Tom Clifford took the lead shortly after the start of the race and never relinquished it.
Although he was minutes ahead of his competition, he was racing to beat a personal goal of 15 minutes. As he pushed through the final stretch of the race, the goal seemed attainable, but the headwind proved to be too strong and he crossed the finish line in 15:06.
“I kind of knew, with the wind during the race, it was going to be a little tougher,” he said after catching his breath. “But you get what you get on the day.”
Despite the dreary weather conditions and the lure of a post-race party catered by Moe’s Southwest Grill in the warm ballroom of the Blockade Runner Beach Resort, a group of participants remained near the finish line to cheer on their fellow competitors.
“The running community is so awesome,” Estlack remarked. “They’re so supportive, so encouraging. I think it’s because it’s such a hard journey that when you’re done, you’re just so grateful. … We’re competitors but we’re all friends.”
The Wilmington Road Runners Club brings together athletes of all ages and backgrounds and places them on a common ground with the shared love of running, Estlack explained. Part of the club’s mission includes passing that enthusiasm on to a new generation of runners.
In addition to encouraging young people to participate in the Wilmington Road Runners Club, vice president Tracy Christian said proceeds from this year’s Seaside Shuffle would fund two $1,000 scholarships to supplement college costs for two high school seniors involved in track or cross-country.
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