Soldotna’s Jesse Kincaid now has as many victories in running races after the age of 40 as he did before the age of 40.
Kincaid, 42, won the Run for the River 10-mile men’s run Saturday in Soldotna for his first running victory since a junior varsity high school triumph in Everett, Washington, in 1989.
Kincaid was joined by Meg Inokuma in the 10-mile winners’ circle, and five-kilometer champs Lars Arneson and Olivia Hutchings.
By his own admission, Kincaid has a less than illustrious athletic past. He notes that the junior varsity running victory came only because he was never able to make varsity.
That wasn’t a big deal, because the 6-foot-4 radiologist at Central Peninsula Hospital only ran to stay in shape for basketball, a sport in which he did make varsity.
“They called me ‘the coach’s victory cigar,’” Kincaid said. “The coach would only put me in when we were up by 20 points.”
But as he entered his late 30s, Kincaid became serious about retaining the athletic ability he had left.
“He weighed 50 pounds more than he does now,” said Kincaid’s wife, Julie Kincaid.
So Jesse, announced as Jesse “The Body” Kincaid at the awards ceremony, took to running with a fervor his wife had not previously seen him display for the sport.
“I ran a marathon at 39 because I knew my warranty was expiring when I turned 40,” Kincaid said. “But I kept running and now I’m 42.”
Kincaid has been able to keep up the running even though he has six children, a job as a radiologist and a leadership position at his church.
He said he runs about three times a week, but supplements that with some strength training, speed work and a healthy diet.
“I’m not a vegetarian, but I’m close,” he said.
Kincaid won the title in 1 hour, 13 minutes and 1 second, while Paul Ostrander was second in 1:15:29 and Bill Taylor was third in 1:17:12.
Ostrander is getting ready for his second Mount Marathon race on July 4, and enjoyed the pep that the Run for the River gave to his normal long training run.
“This was a little faster than my normal long run,” Ostrander said.
Inokuma’s victory in the 10-miler marked another stage in a comeback from torn ligaments in her right ankle.
The injury happened in April 2014, when Inokuma, who is from Kodiak and is spending the summer in Soldotna, was climbing Bird Ridge while the trail was still icy.
“I was running to get ready to climb Denali and it happened 40 days before I was supposed to go,” Inokuma said. “I didn’t make the flight.”
Inokuma said she was able to do some light running on the ankle by the end of the year, but it was not until February that a physical therapist gave her some rehab advice that really got her going again.
“It’s 99 percent back now,” she said.
Inokuma finished at 1:15:38, while Emily Werner was at 1:20:47 and Rena Anderson was at 1:27:26.
Anderson, 33, of Soldotna, said she has been running for six years now due to the encouragement of successive bosses.
Her running philosophy is, “Why not longer?” and Saturday was another step forward in that way of thinking.
The longest training run she had ever done was 11 miles, but she was able to debut at third place in a 10-mile run.
And she said she couldn’t have picked a better sun-splashed day and route to do it.
“It’s a great course,” she said. “You get to look at the river like 20 times and see all the nice homes.
“It was a beautiful day for it.”
Arneson turned in a zippy 16:53 to defeat runner-up Zach Burns at 19:13 and Brenner Musgrave at 19:17.
As the racing kit he was wearing Saturday proudly displayed, Arneson went to Cook Inlet Academy, graduating in 2009. He then skied and ran at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, graduating last summer.
He did some traveling, and now is back in town to make money in order to do more traveling.
He said he is not running a lot anymore, but decided to come out and see if he could still break 17 minutes.
“I like this because it’s a low-key event,” Arneson said. “I like registering the day of.”
Hutchings, a senior at Soldotna, continued a strong comeback from a hip injury that hampered her for the early part of the high school track and field season. She also gave her neighborhood, which also includes the Kincaids, a second victory on the day.
She ran the 5K in 19:57, while Anna Widman was second at 20:11 and Daisy Nelson was third at 22:03.
Hutchings’ injury came when she rapidly transitioned to minimalist running shoes.
“I didn’t know you are supposed to go into it gradually,” she said. “I didn’t do my research.”
Hutchings was a runner-up in fall’s Class 4A cross-country meet, and regained that form in track, finishing second in the 4A 3,200-meter run.
The winner of those races, of course, was Kenai Central’s Allie Ostrander, who has now graduated and left a much bigger stage for Hutchings’ senior year.
“I’m really excited,” Hutchings said. “She was always in the spotlight. I’m excited to have my time to shine.
“I’m going to be doing a lot of races this summer.”
The Run for the River is part of, and raises funds for, the Kenai River Festival, now in its 25th year. But Rhonda McCormick, the race coordinator, said the records are not firm enough to know how many years the Run for the River has been held.
At 180 runners strong Saturday, though, the race keeps adding wrinkles to grow stronger and stronger.
Four years ago, a spaghetti feed was added the night before the race, and this year racers had the option of replacing the regular cotton race T-shirt with a synthetic, moisture-wicking version, for an extra $3.
Run for the River
Saturday in Soldotna
WOMEN
Individual 5-kilometer results
1. Olivia Hutchings, 19 minutes, 57 seconds; 2. Anna Widman, 20:11; 3. Daisy Nelson, 22:03; 4. Molly Erickson, 22:15; 5. Brooke Satathite, 22:24; 6. Sue Seggerman, 22:48; 7. Jenny Dickinson, 23:06; 8. Sarah Walton, 23:11; 9. Sadie Arneson, 24:02; 10. Lauren Bauder, 24:04; 11. Ellie Burns, 24:27; 12. Katie Ford, 24:39; 13. Melanie Sexton, 25:03; 14. Sara Haack, 25:30; 15. Annie Burns, 25:33; 16. Marian Werth, 26:04; 17. Polly Greden, 26:49; 18. Amy Baxter, 26:41; 19. Rachel Erickson, 26:54; 20. Brooke Campbell, 27:05; 21. Christa Kennedy, 27:06; 22. Sarah Hobart, 27:20; 23. Jane Fuerstenau, 27:20; 24. Kyaran Matturro, 27:57; 25. Brittany Magill, 28:10.
26. Joy Hobart, 28:10; 27. Pamela Baker, 28:11; 28. Joan Ryan, 28:27; 29. Janelle Hames, 29:10; 30. Kaley Hunter, 29:55; 31. Chanice Davies, 30:02; 32. Bobbi Lay, 30:02; 33. Ashley Dahlman, 30:13; 34. Christina Morin, 30:59; 35. Lordes Estrada, 31:30; 36. Camilla Gonzalez, 31:32; 37. Melissa Tafoya, 31:33; 38. Melanie Papp, 31:47; 39. Sarah Drury, 32:06; 40. Darci Drury, 32:12; 41. Patricia Walton, 32:33; 42. Jennifer Peura, 32:52; 43. Erin Borsdorf, 33:00; 44. Jordan Ruffner, 33:11; 45. Tara Ruffner, 33:12; 46. Kate Jefferson, 33:49; 47. Leah Davies, 34:00; 48. Aubrey Morgan, 34:10; 49. Rinna Carson, 34:27; 50. Amy Hogue, 34:27.
51. Jennifer Neff Powell, 34:29; 52. Grace Morrow, 34:35; 53. Amber Bramlett, 34:38; 54. Christie Stinnett, 34:57; 55. Deverie Bergevin, 35:01; 56. Jasmine Woodland, 35:08; 57. Cathy Douglas, 36:27; 58. Sandra Sterling, 36:54; 59. Hailey Stonecipher, 37:15; 60. Heather Corbett, 39:00; 61. Michelle Higuchi, 39:25; 62. Abriella Werner, 39:46; 63. Shonia Werner, 39:47; 64. Kelly Hicks, 39:54; 65. Sara Baersma, 40:11; 66. Kellie Stroh, 40:11; 67. Nicole Egholm, 41:17; 68. Rachel Grossl, 41:40; 69. Johna Beech, 41:56; 70. Emmalia Papp, 42:08; 71. Monica Frost, 42:17; 72. Cassandra Winslow, 42:51; 73. DeeDee Fowler, 43:19; 74. Jennifer Tollackson, 43:20; 75. Madison Bennett, 43:21.
76. Allison Bennett, 43:21; 77. Payton Matturro, 43:30; 78. Sienna Lautaret, 45:24; 79. Maryjane Baxter, 45:25; 80. Naomi Weetman, 45:25; 81. Mikki Smith, 45:26; 82. Tanya Lautaret, 45:28; 83. Taylor Stonecipher, 46:17; 84. Sondra Stonecipher, 46:17; 85. Traci Gonzalez, 46:38; 86. Sharon Isaak, 47:55; 87. Karen Tollackson, 47:55; 88. Mary Starrs Armstrong, 50:05; 89. Louise Martin, 50:05; 90. Tammi Linn, 51:10; 91. Hyda Murray, 52:20; 92. Pam Crawford, 53:20; 93. Emily Tippins, 53:20; 94. Suzanne Richards, 53:25; 95. Sara Moore, 55:52; 96. Linda Loranger, 55:52; 97. Barb Beeman, 57:12; 98. Linda Story, 57:13; 99. Paula Standefer, 58:44; 100. Olivia Kobylarz, 1:27:15. 101. Teagen Kobylarz, 1:28:52.
Individual 10-mile results
1. Meg Inokuma, 1:15:38; 2. Emily Werner, 1:20:47; 3. Rena Anderson, 1:27:26; 4. Jodi Hanson, 1:30:24; 5. Susan Craig, 1:32:46; 6. Heather Beauparlant, 1:32:46; 7. Katie Evans, 1:36:31; 8. Emily Knight, 1:37:55; 9. Patti Berkhahn, 1:38:30; 10. Jonette Pond, 1:38:32; 11. Carly Reimer, 1:40:53; 12. Jen Showalter, 1:40:55; 13. Laura Young, 1:42:28; 14. Lisa Chambers, 1:42:55; 15. Tasha Skolnick, 1:43:34; 16. Kristin Morrow, 1:43:53; 17. Ciara Johnson, 1:44:48; 18. Misty Klodt, 1:50:36; 19. Melinda Miller, 1:50:46; 20. Annie Morgan, 1:50:57; 21. Maria Sweppy, 2:01:29; 22. Stephanie Kobylarz, 2:09:39; 23. Christina Mullins, 2:09:44.
MEN
Individual 5-kilometer results
1. Lars Arneson, 16:53; 2. Zach Burns, 19:13; 3. Brenner Musgrave, 19:17; 4. Kent Peterson, 20:23; 5. Nathan Spence, 21:08; 6. Matti Silta, 21:16; 7. Fox Michaud, 21:40; 8. Zachary Hicks, 21:58; 9. Jay Ranson, 22:26; 10. Tony Eskelin, 22:34; 11. Matthew Parker, 22:41; 12. Brennan Werner, 23:53; 13. Pete Mauro, 24:04; 14. Tom Seggerman, 24:38; 15. Ryan Nelson, 24:48; 16. Robert Hunter, 25:32; 17. Joel Burns, 25:34; 18. Ben Weagraff, 26:02; 19. Chad Arthur, 26:27; 20. Wyatt White, 26:28; 21. Dylan Hogue, 26:43; 22. Bob Ball, 26:46; 23. Doug Hogue, 26:54; 24. Pete Sprague, 26:56; 25. John Campbell, 27:07.
26. Jeff Smith, 27:10; 27. Dan Pascucci, 27:57; 28. Jeff Douglas, 28:02; 29. Luc Beauparlant, 28:46; 30. Paul Morin, 30:59; 31. Paul Werner, 31:53; 32. Joe Hart, 32:09; 33. Carter Bennett, 32:38; 34. Patrick Bennett, 32:38; 35. George Stein, 33:39; 36. Mitchel Michaud, 33:57; 37. Benjamin Grossl, 35:04; 38. Seth Wise, 35:08; 39. Ethan Hogue, 38:39; 40. Bridger Beck, 38:40; 41. Bill Hanson, 39:13; 42. William Crawford, 53:19; 43. Tom Kobylarz, 58:52.
Individual 10-mile results
1. Jesse Kincaid, 1:13:01; 2. Paul Ostrander, 1:15:29; 3. Bill Taylor, 1:17:12; 4. Bill Withrow, 1:21:49; 5. Shayne Pond, 1:28:52; 6. Kurt Strausbaugh, 1:30:03; 7. Stephen Schell, 1:33:22; 8. Richard Bond, 1:35:56; 9. Gary Jones, 1:38:08; 10. Pat Mize, 1:42:23; 11. Dillon Jensen, 1:44:47; 12. Randy Jensen, 1:44:48; 13. Lawrence Johns, 1:56:12.
