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Dean Apple’s mustache survives wager
“We had a lot of fun, but there is a controversy,” Apple said, because of a lack of clarity in the wager’s “rules of engagement.” In late September, Apple was out for an early morning run in Newark, he said, when he came upon a group of UD ROTC cadets training for the Army 10-Miler under the supervision of Dane Tkacs, chairperson of the Department of Military Science at UD. Ten cadets from UD were planning to compete in the race. Apple, who turned 50 last year and recently had knee surgery, told the cadets that if he didn’t outrun at least five of them in the 10-mile race he would submit to a military-style haircut and shave off his mustache. The fact that only eight UD cadets ran in the Army 10-Miler and a change in the length and course of this year’s race muddied the waters. The 22,000-some runners in the race were advised in the middle of the Army 10-Miler that a suspicious package spotted under the 14th Street Bridge in Washington had caused the race to be rerouted across another bridge, adding 1.3 miles to the race course. “At mile 10, I had five of the eight beat,” Apple said, “but about a half mile from the end I cramped up. I was not having fun in that last half mile.” Although he still beat four of the eight UD ROTC cadets who competed, Apple said they were convinced he had lost his bet with them. “Most of the cadets thought they had mustache,” Apple said. “They had their shears and scissors out, and they were ready to go. “I maintain that more than half of the eight should have beat me,” Apple said. “I guess we didn’t have our rules of engagement clearly enough defined.” The stalemate has set up a rematch for next year’s Army 10-Miler. “Time is not on my side,” Apple conceded. “I’ll be 51 in a couple of weeks.” Photo by Kathy F. Atkinson To learn how to subscribe to UDaily, click here. |
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