Familiar turf

Who says you can’t come home again?

Joleen Smith, a product of Nikiski High School, finished first in the women’s race at the Tri-the-Kenai triathlon Sunday at Skyview High School. Smith saw the event as a “bonus” since it was in her backyard.

“I just love this because I get to come home,” Smith said. “I’m from Nikiski so I come home and my family gets to be there, not like the races in Anchorage.”

Smith finished about a minute before the next finisher in the women’s division with a time of 1 hour, 1 minute and 2 seconds, more than a minute ahead of Martha Marlow in second place, and Kelly McCann in third.

The triathlon had over 200 participants, compared to the 140 from last year’s inaugural event.

The race consisted of a 500-yard swim in the pool, then racers mounted their bikes for a 10-mile highway race. Finally, there was a five-kilometer run through the Tsalteshi Trails behind the school. There were two youth events, participants ages 5-9 completed a three-kilometer bike and a two-kilometer run through the trails. The 10-14 age group completed a four-kilometer bike and three-kilometer run.

Journey Miller, 9, finished in first place in the female 5-9 age group, and Aimee Schmitt, 14, took first place in the female 10-14 age group. Gabe Bruno, 8, took first in the male 5-9 age group and Sam McElroy, 11, was first in the male 10-14 age group.

Smith, a cross-country coach at South Anchorage High School, joked about having to share the trail with the wildlife that is so prevalent on the Kenai Peninsula.

“I love the course, you can’t get more beautiful than that. Out on the trails, I had a bunny shoot past me. A couple of times I had to turn around and make sure there wasn’t more wildlife behind me,” Smith said.

Jens Beck finished first in the men’s division with a time of 49:34 seconds, just about three minutes ahead of last year’s winner, Jason Lamoreaux, in second place and Andrew Duenow finished third. Beck had much praise for the organizers of the event and said the course was top-notch.

“The course was really beautiful, I thought it was entertaining and really fun, really fast, and I enjoyed it,” Beck said. 

Matt Spence from Anchorage said he was glad the course was well-marked since he got “a little lost” during last week’s Eagle River Triathlon.

One of the goals of the race was to welcome experienced and nonexperienced runners alike, said Tony Oliver, co-race director.

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