Compliments of Amy Binder

Pickles, cakes and runners
By Amy Binder

Was it the lack of anything better to do? The lose-a-few-pounds resolutions? Or the quirky new race series and its funny name?

Whatever it was, the inaugural Pickle Run Winter 5K Series drew nearly 150 entrants, five times initial estimates.

On January 19, the first public Pickle introduced runners to a new kind of old-fashioned race, with low entry fees and bare-bones amenities.

Such downsizing of a 5K race runs counter to the supersize trend of more, bigger, better. More give-aways for runners. Bigger prizes for winners. Better competitive fields for the speed-conscious.  

But is bigger always better?

Tim Krueger, the man behind the Pickle, uses some of the most advanced technology in his race-timing business, Run the Day. Still, he reminisces about the good old days when low-tech popsicle sticks were used to tally race results.

When I started running regularly in the late 1980s, my first races were staged by the Delco Road Runners Club. These included a cake race, where the entry fee and finisher prizes were homemade cakes, and a prediction run, where winners weren’t necessarily the fastest but those finishing closest to the times they had estimated beforehand.

In an effort to get more families involved in running, Delco RRC also hosted a variation on the prediction concept, with a couples relay. The two partners would take off in opposite directions on the same course. When they met, they would hand off a wristband, turn around and retrace their steps. As a final twist, both parties had to cross the finish line together. Again, the winners would be the teams finishing closest to their estimated time. Wristwatches or any other personal timing devices were verboten.

These were the glory days of my racing career. And I have high hopes that events like the Pickle will bring back a homey, off-beat flavor to what is basically a repetitious and often mind-numbing endeavor. Left foot. Right foot. Repeat. For miles.

For the first Pickle, the prizes were (take one guess) pickles. They were both decorated and edible. The prize categories went beyond the usual, with LaFrenchie Jones winning herself a full jar of pickles because, as the last finisher of the race, she had “pickled” the longest.

If you missed the first Pickle, don’t fret. There are two more in this series. The second, on February 16, is a prediction run and starts at picnic area 17 at Ridley Creek State Park in Media. The final Pickle returns to the Ridley Creek park office on March 15. For more information, visit

The biggest question people seem to have about the Pickle series is the name. Tim either doesn’t remember or won’t say where the inspiration came from. But now he’s looking into possible links between pickles and their health benefits for runners.

Whatever he finds out, one thing’s for sure. He’s certainly created a fine pickle for area runners.
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Originally published in the News of Delaware County, Feb. 6-12, 2008. Reprinted with permission.

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