Voight, Calvert claim Kenai Run for Women races

Minnesota runner Angie Voight has made it a habit of winning races in Kenai in recent years, but the road ringer does it for a good cause.

Voight won the 10-kilometer race Saturday morning at the 29th annual LeeShore Center Run for Women, 20 years after making her debut in the event.

“This was one of the first road races I did (in 1996),” Voight said minutes after crossing the line in a sizzling 40 minutes, 19 seconds. “I ran five (kilometers) in college, then made the transition to 10K when I got older.”

At age 39, the St. Paul native still runs with much of the same speed she had as a collegiate athlete. Voight said her time Saturday was only four minutes slower than her personal best in the distance.

“The weather was so perfect,” Voight said about the ideal cloudy skies that greeted runners. “Last week it was about 80 degrees in Minnesota.”

So goes the trend that typically follows her. Voight has used the Run for Women as a test run in the past, and this year, she is fresh off a performance in the Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth, Minnesota, a qualifier for the Boston Marathon.

Michelle Mitchell finished second, 2:41 behind Voight. Becca Hitchcock of Sterling took third in 44:33.

Incoming Kenai Central sophomore Jaycie Calvert won the women’s 5K race with a time of 20:55, holding off Rena Anderson by 14 seconds.

The race is a benefit for the LeeShore Center, which has served as a 24-hour domestic violence and sexual assault shelter for Kenai and the central Peninsula since May 1977, providing a safe place for women and children to go.

Voight makes the annual trip to Kenai for the good cause, but it also doubles as a family vacation and it has netted her several victories. Voight estimates Saturday’s win was close to 10 for her between the 5K and 10K races, which she has entered on and off since 1996, when she raced for the first time as a 19-year-old college runner.

“They do such a good job planning this event, the atmosphere is great,” she said. “That’s what keeps us coming back.”

Mitchell, a Russian language teacher at Voznesenka school near Homer, finished one spot better than last year, finishing in 43 minutes flat, an improvement over 2015 by just eight seconds.

In the 5K, Calvert used the race as a tuneup for the upcoming high school cross-country season, which began Saturday with several meets across the state. Kenai Central did not participate in any races, but Calvert will join her teammates for Monday’s Nikiski Class Races before preparing for the 27th annual Tsalteshi Invite next Saturday in Soldotna.

“I’m getting ready for cross-country season, plus I like the cause it’s for,” Calvert said. “Last year I ran the 10K, but I wanted to try the 5K because it’s the distance we run.”

Anderson was a regular this year at the five-race Salmon Run Series at the Tsalteshi Trails, running a top time of 22:33 on the hilly loops, but on the flatter, faster course on the streets of Kenai, Anderson ran a 21:10.

“This was my goal race, I wanted to get under 20 (minutes),” Anderson said. “I’m addicted to running.”

Anderson took the early lead but said Calvert slipped by with about 2 1-2 miles to go.

“She got me right by the courthouse,” she said. “It always seems like there’s a younger runner to race against, a high schooler.”

Anderson will soon be setting her sights on the Pound for Pound 5K, a race she is helping to organize Aug. 24 in Nikiski that will help benefit the Boys and Girls Club, with 25 percent of funds being donated.

Further back in the 10K race was a pair of funky-looking runners that also finished for a good cause. Kyle McNally of Colorado and Nikki Dixon of Soldotna came across the line together, but McNally was the one sporting the red and black skirt.

“(Dixon) said if I run this race with her, I had to wear it,” McNally said with a smirk. “It was either this or Alyeska.”

McNally said he was planning to race in Saturday’s Alyeska Mountain Run in Girdwood, but when Dixon encouraged him to join her in the Run for Women, the offer became just too enticing. Plus, Dixon was able to get some free advertising for her business — “CrossFit Certitude,” located on K-Beach Road — on McNally’s back. The name of the CrossFit gym was scrawled on the white shirt he was wearing. CrossFit is a burgeoning sport that promotes varying workout routines.

“I was out of shape for a long time, and in my late 20s I got into CrossFit,” Dixon said. “I was worried about racing for a long time because of the pressure, but I just decided to do it.”

29th LeeShore Center Run for Women

5K Women

1. Jaycie Calvert, 20:55 2. Rena Anderson, 21:09 3. Sue Seggerman, 22:38 4. Susan Craig, 22:51 5. Shari Bedunnah, 24:41 6. Molly Copple, 24:51 7. Lauren Upson, 26:45 8. Tatum Rozak, 28:21 9. Renee Helie, 28:59 10. Emilie Marshall, 29:10 11. June Stuckey, 29:54 12. Ariel Morse, 30:07 13. Julia Hanson, 30:41 14. Sofie Nielsen, 31:07 15. Laura Henckelman, 31:15 16. Rhiley Halverson, 31:33 17. Denise Lutton, 31:34 18. Nancy Chumbler, 32:24 19. Katrina Cannava, 32:57 20. Ariana Cannava, 33:01 21. Pat Walton, 33:25 22. Eileen Bryson, 34:05 23. Kyaran Matturro, 34:06 24. Mickinzie Ticknor, 34:06 25. Lynne O’Connor, 34:12 26. Tammy Fann, 34:26 27. Kaylee Fann, 34:26 28. Ashlee Fann, 34:29 29. Stacy Straub, 34:44 30. Angel Bond, 36:13 31. Eva Maye Dunn, 37:23 32. Angeline Quiner, 38:00 33. Deverie Bergevin, 38:07 34. Kelly Lawson, 38:14 35. Luthien Collver, 38:52 36. Jacynne Collver, 38:53 37. Daedra Doyle, 39:53 38. Dareena Doyle, 39:54 39. Jacqueline Van Hatten, 40:23 40. Ayla Tallent, 40:30 41. Rebecca Hart, 40:45 42. Anna Laroche, 40:49 43. Patricia Montgomery, 40:55 44. Kelly Hicks, 42:30 45. Lizzy Young, 43:39 46. Kaarin Johnson, 43:39 47. Shannon Bird, 44:21 48. Barbara Allen, 44:30 49. Carol Hussey, 45:27 50. Marti Garrett, 46:17 51. Donna Hinders, 46:17 52. Monica Hinders, 47:18 53. Shannon Harvey, 47:43 54. Naomi Barker, 47:43 55. Paula Standefer, 49:36 56. Marystarrs Armstrong, 49:36 57. Kathleen Bush, 49:44 58. Nicole Stein, 49:49 59. Yvonne Oren, 50:18 60. Sierra Hershberger, 52:37 61. Margaret Gilman, 52:42 62. Cassandra Winslow, 52:43 63. Kristin Morrow, 52:48 64. Maria Calvert, 52:48 65. Sydney Tyler, 52:53 66. Lane Beauchamp, 55:07 67. Dana Phillips, 55:08 68. Patricia Reilly, 55:32 69. Savannah Hershberger, 55:45 70. Mary Metz, 55:52 71. Judith Shields, 56:05 72. Barbara Phegley, 56:05 73. Margaret Jones, 56:06 74. Sharon Isaak, 57:35 75. Evelyn Boulette, 57:36 76. Beth Swaby, 57:38 77. Pamela Hershberger, 58:31 78. Sydney Hershberger, 58:31 79. Pako Whannell, 58:33 80. Holly Kiel, 58:39 81. Tammy Strausbaugh, 59:18 82. Gloria Strausbaugh, 59:19.

5K Boys 17 & Under

1. Karl Danielson, 39:58 2. Kameron Bird, 52:34.

10K Women

1. Angie Voight, 40:19 2. Michelle Mitchell, 43:00 3. Becca Hitchcock, 44:33 4. Heather Moon, 45:33 5. Julia Terry, 47:02 6. Ashley Tonione, 49:11 7. Lisa Wells, 50:09 8. Nikki Dixon, 54:21 9. Nadia Anders, 55:10 10. Lanise Taunton, Rigby, 55:55 11. Ashley Anderson, 57:08 12. Sohnya Johnson, 58:12 13. Katie Evans, 58:14 14. Hollins Mccarley, 59:30 15. Stephanie Bias, 59:31 16. Sara Bundy, 59:36 17. Katie Mae Tallent, 1:00:33 18. Casie Strausbaugh, 1:01:30 19. Brooke Stein, 1:02:59 20. Jill Stein, 1:03:07 21. Miriam Freas, 1:04:19 22. Alaine Lagasse, 1:04:48 23. Misty Peterkin, 1:05:22 24. Maria Sweppy, 1:12:16 25. Veronika Kline, 1:15:01 26. Peggy Leonard, 1:17:09 27. Carrie Nelson, 1:20:01 28. Penny Furnish, 1:23:02.

10K Boys 17 & Under

1. Samuel Anders, 54:20 2. Zachary Priebe, 1:00:11.