Menard Run crowns repeat champions

DARRELL L. BREESE/ Frontiersman reporter

WASILLA - Wasilla High School head football coach Joe Gardner must have had his wires crossed sometime prior to the start of Curtis C. Menard II 5-K Memorial Run, Saturday.

While most of the serious competitors stepped to the starting line with the state championship title and $1,700 in prize money on their minds, Gardner backed into position with a crazy idea in his head.

"I just wanted to break up the monotony," Gardner said. "Five minutes before the race, I decided to run it backwards. I've never done it before, and thought it would be fun.

"It made it easier to talk to people as I passed them," he said. "I think some of the people thought I was crazy as I went by them."

Gardner finished in just more than 30 minutes, well off his normal time of 16 minutes. But he was satisfied with his performance.

"I was confident I could finish," he said. "The quads are hurting a little more than normal, and my feet are burning a little. But I am happy with my race."

While Gardner was busy going backward, defending champions Jerry Ross and Najeeby Quinn ran their way to repeat victories.

Najeeby Quinn spent most of her race thinking about fishing. Quinn didn't have king salmon on the brain. She had her fellow runners on her mind. After settling into a comfortable pace during the first kilometer of the race, she began reeling in one runner after another.

"I basically go fishing," Quinn said. "That is the nice thing about running at the same time the guys do. I hook onto the one in front of me, and work on reeling him in."

The method worked as she worked through several aches, pains and minor injuries to win her second consecutive state 5-K title, crossing the finish line at the 17-minute, 28.23-second mark. Along with the win she claimed her second state 5-K title, and $500 in prize money.

"The money was definitely a motivator," she said. "It helped me work through the pain - and will be used to pay for some physical therapy after the Run for Women."

Ross found himself in a similar situation to last year. Ross was caught in a head-to-head race as he neared the finish line.

Unlike last year, when he edged Will Kimball by the slimmest of margins, Ross managed to pull away from University of Alaska Anchorage runner David Kiplagat in the final 300 meters for victory.

"I was afraid it was going to be last year all over," Ross said. "But I was just holding on last year. I felt strong as we neared the finish, and was able to put on a big kick."

That late surge gave Ross a 10-second cushion, when he finally crossed the finish-line with a personal-best time of 14:48.21.

"This is such a great race," Ross said. "The course is wonderful. It's the state championship and the prize money attracts all the best runners in the state. From a competitive stand-point, this is the best competition of any race in Alaska. This has become a race to win.

"The Heart Run is special with its 7,000 people, but this race has replaced it as the top 5k race in the state in my book."

Editor's Note: Complete results of the race will be published in the Tuesday edition of the Frontiersman.