It’s an early sub-freezing Sunday morning and Karen Delaney Wheeler is lining up with about 400 other runners for the start of a weekly race.
The competition is the official kickoff to another Winter Series calendar of events sponsored by the Bucks County Roadrunners Club at Tyler State Park.
Few among the participants would know or even guess that just a few hundred meters away (at Bucks County Community College) and about 40 years ago, this petite speedster toed the starting line with the fastest girls high school cross-country competitors in Lower Bucks County.
And beat them all.
Not only that: A few weeks later, after winning the race in Newtown, she would travel to Lehigh University with her Bristol High School team for the state championships and finish an eye-opening ninth overall.
Delaney Wheeler then went on to further greatness with the cross-country and track teams at St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia where she still holds the school records for the 5,000 and 10,000 meters.
But the most amazing part of this story is the fact that she has been the mother of three children, continues her career in medical radiology and still can crank out a nasty time over the perilous hills of Tyler.
Now that puts new meaning into the word “endurance” when describing an endurance runner.
She can still take care of 5K in about 26 minutes.
Following her career at St. Joe’s and participating in several graduate programs, Karen took some years off from running to raise a family with her husband, John Wheeler, a highly competitive runner whom she met back in their Bristol High School days.
But once her children began to grow, Karen got the urge to run again. And run she has, like her weekly races in the BCRR Winter Series.
“I remember having a pretty good senior year, starting with cross-country in the fall of ’83,” she said in a recent interview. “I got off to a good start and there were several course records along the way. The league championships were at BCCC and those were the big ones in those days.”
A fine softball player, Delaney-Wheeler got into running when a neighbor once told her the Bristol High School track team didn’t make cuts. So she gave it a shot and discovered some hidden talent.
“In those days, the coaches went down the hallways looking for athletes,” she said. “I said, ‘there’s something for everybody in track. I’ll give it a try I guess.’ Nobody was getting cut and that worked for me.”
Delaney Wheeler had a chance to go to the University of Pennsylvania but St. Joe’s offered a better financial package and that’s where she went. And with no regrets. One of the assistant coaches there was former Pennsbury High School running star Jim Van Blunk.
“I was able to avoid the injury bug, ran all four years and majored in physics,” she said. “Then I began to work as a medical physicist. It’s a wonderful career.”
As for her family, to no one’s surprise, all three children took up running and have excelled at it.
Veronica, now 28; John, 26; and Bridget, 23 have followed in their parents’ footsteps.
“Not only did Veronica follow but she far exceeded her mom and dad,” Karen chuckled. “She went to DeSales University (after competing for Nazareth Academy) in Allentown, ran all four years and was a two-time All-American. We’re so proud of her.”
John ran track and cross-country for Holy Ghost Prep, graduated from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh and is now a pharmacist.
Bridget was part of the 2016 Pennsbury state champion cross-country team and also competed on the state championship 4 x 800 relay team.
All this happened because Karen and John shared a love of running and it formed the basis for their marriage.
John went to Millersville and then active duty in the U.S. Navy.
“Once he shipped out, I thought this could be over or we could make this work,” Karen remembered. “So we made it work. It (running) is a common interest and something we enjoy.”
Karen says she keeps running because, in part, it adds a different dynamic to her life.
“I’ve seen so many instances where someone’s health is declining,” she said. “If there’s something I can do to avoid that, I’m going to do it. It definitely has an upside in that respect.”
Any advice for an adult runner either getting back into it or just starting out for the first time?
“Don’t be discouraged,” she said. “Stick with it. There are going to be days when you don’t think you can go very far. We all have to make some kind of a comeback. It takes time. You can’t rush it.”
The competition is the official kickoff to another Winter Series calendar of events sponsored by the Bucks County Roadrunners Club at Tyler State Park.
Few among the participants would know or even guess that just a few hundred meters away (at Bucks County Community College) and about 40 years ago, this petite speedster toed the starting line with the fastest girls high school cross-country competitors in Lower Bucks County.
And beat them all.
Not only that: A few weeks later, after winning the race in Newtown, she would travel to Lehigh University with her Bristol High School team for the state championships and finish an eye-opening ninth overall.
Delaney Wheeler then went on to further greatness with the cross-country and track teams at St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia where she still holds the school records for the 5,000 and 10,000 meters.
But the most amazing part of this story is the fact that she has been the mother of three children, continues her career in medical radiology and still can crank out a nasty time over the perilous hills of Tyler.
Now that puts new meaning into the word “endurance” when describing an endurance runner.
She can still take care of 5K in about 26 minutes.
Following her career at St. Joe’s and participating in several graduate programs, Karen took some years off from running to raise a family with her husband, John Wheeler, a highly competitive runner whom she met back in their Bristol High School days.
But once her children began to grow, Karen got the urge to run again. And run she has, like her weekly races in the BCRR Winter Series.
“I remember having a pretty good senior year, starting with cross-country in the fall of ’83,” she said in a recent interview. “I got off to a good start and there were several course records along the way. The league championships were at BCCC and those were the big ones in those days.”
A fine softball player, Delaney-Wheeler got into running when a neighbor once told her the Bristol High School track team didn’t make cuts. So she gave it a shot and discovered some hidden talent.
“In those days, the coaches went down the hallways looking for athletes,” she said. “I said, ‘there’s something for everybody in track. I’ll give it a try I guess.’ Nobody was getting cut and that worked for me.”
Delaney Wheeler had a chance to go to the University of Pennsylvania but St. Joe’s offered a better financial package and that’s where she went. And with no regrets. One of the assistant coaches there was former Pennsbury High School running star Jim Van Blunk.
“I was able to avoid the injury bug, ran all four years and majored in physics,” she said. “Then I began to work as a medical physicist. It’s a wonderful career.”
As for her family, to no one’s surprise, all three children took up running and have excelled at it.
Veronica, now 28; John, 26; and Bridget, 23 have followed in their parents’ footsteps.
“Not only did Veronica follow but she far exceeded her mom and dad,” Karen chuckled. “She went to DeSales University (after competing for Nazareth Academy) in Allentown, ran all four years and was a two-time All-American. We’re so proud of her.”
John ran track and cross-country for Holy Ghost Prep, graduated from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh and is now a pharmacist.
Bridget was part of the 2016 Pennsbury state champion cross-country team and also competed on the state championship 4 x 800 relay team.
All this happened because Karen and John shared a love of running and it formed the basis for their marriage.
John went to Millersville and then active duty in the U.S. Navy.
“Once he shipped out, I thought this could be over or we could make this work,” Karen remembered. “So we made it work. It (running) is a common interest and something we enjoy.”
Karen says she keeps running because, in part, it adds a different dynamic to her life.
“I’ve seen so many instances where someone’s health is declining,” she said. “If there’s something I can do to avoid that, I’m going to do it. It definitely has an upside in that respect.”
Any advice for an adult runner either getting back into it or just starting out for the first time?
“Don’t be discouraged,” she said. “Stick with it. There are going to be days when you don’t think you can go very far. We all have to make some kind of a comeback. It takes time. You can’t rush it.”
>Race calendar>
Sunday
Bucks County Roadrunners Club Winter Series Jingle Bell 5.3-Miler, 9 a.m., Tyler State Park, Newtown-Richboro. Contact www.bcrrclub.com
