Megan Youngren, winner of the Anchorage Mayor’s Marathon in June, runner-up in the Fairbanks Equinox Marathon on September 18th and U.S. Olympic marathon trials participant in 2020, ran away from the field in the 2021 Kenai River Marathon for the overall victory and the female division victory on Sunday.
Youngren, age 30, completed the 26.2 mile course in 2:48:11,5 , averaging 6:25 per mile.
The Kenai River Marathon course started at the Kenai Cultural and Visitor Center, ran through downtown Kenai, down Bridge Access to K-Beach, K-Beach to Soldotna, through the Soldotna residential areas including Redoubt, Kobuk, and Knight Drive; and back to the Kenai Visitor Center on the Unity Trail.
Kenai River Marathon Top Five Overall
Youngren raced along-side race runner-up and men’s division top finisher Pedro Ochoa for the first 5+ miles and then pulled-away and ran alone well ahead of the field.
Pedro Ochoa of Homer, the 2017 and 2018 Kenai River Marathon men’s champion, finished second overall and first in the men’s division with a time of 3:10:29,3, averaging 7:16 per mile.
Soldotna’s Lee Frey placed second in the men’s division and third overall in 3:13:39,8, averaging 7:23 per mile. Other top five performances included: 4th William Bowman, 3:14:28,1; 5th Robert Cassidy, 3:15:53,8.
Kenai River Marathon Results:
Men’s Top Five
- Pedro Ochoa 3:10:29,3
- Lee Frey 3:13:39,8
- William Bowman 3:14:28,1
- Robert Cassidy 3:15:53,8
- Tony Covarrubias, 3:57:51,5
Women’s Top Five
- Megan Youngren 2:48:11,5
- Carma Reed 3:51:13,4
- Susan Craig 3:58:56,9
- Tricia Fields 4:01:51,4
- Sara Larsen 4:06:29,3
Kenai River 1/2 Marathon
Men’s Top Five
- Patrick Lewis 1:22:29,5
- Michael Foster 1:42:25,0
- Don Connely 1:42:47,9
- Larry Nickell 1:48:44,7
- Alex Wade 1:50:35,9
Women’s Top Five
- Meghan Cloud 1:37:12,2
- Kristin Davis 1:43:46,3
- Kathleen Sorensen 1:43:50,
- Elizabeth Hardie. 1:48:51.2
- Emily Knight 1:50:29,3
- Libby Jensen 1:52:52,0
Kenai River 5K Event
Men’s Top Five
- Sebastian Reed 0:22:27,6
- Nils Cardell 0:27:04,4
- Eric Foley 0:28:38,2
- Trent Boggs 0:37:11,0
- Joshua Lewis 0:39:24,2
Women’s Top Five
- Veronika Reed (age 17) 0:29:26,3
- Dannette Peterson 0:31:02,2
- Rachael Nelson 0:33:25,4
- Emily Heale 0:34:22,6
- Courtney Berry 0:34:23
Relay Marathon Top Two
- Navigationally Challenged 3:08:27.1 Sean Goff, Alex Serventi, Patrick Metzger, Rustin Hitchcock
- Young Gunners 3:30.27.5 John Brumante, Nicholas Josten, Chris Beaudoin, Danny Hyman