'I always dreamed that I'd do it once'

SANDPOINT — Sagle’s Kenneth Hinds might not have finished Bloomsday 2013 amongst the Kenyans and Ethiopians at the front of the pack, but his recent performance was every bit as impressive in its own right.

Hinds, 70, has been running the popular 7.46-mile race in Spokane for 36 years, each time striving to win his age group, no small feat in a race that draws more than 50,000 runners most years.

Last Sunday, Hinds clocked a 55:48 to beat the other 182 people in the 70-74 year-old group, pounding the pavement to the tune of a 7:28 clip per mile. Immediately after the race, he wasn’t all that pleased with his performance, and was surprised to learn that he had won his age group by more than four minutes.

“My son called at six in the morning and said, ‘Did you see the results?’ ” recalls Hinds, a retired railroad worker who looks far younger than his age. “I said, ‘Whoopee.’ I always dreamed that I’d do it once, and it finally happened. I’m elated.”

Hinds admits he got off the couch when he was 33 years old and started running as a way to lose weight. He hasn’t stopped since; also competing in triathlons for a couple decades, including the prestigious Iron Man Hawaii race.

When he turned 40 he posted his best-ever Bloomsday time of 40:47, good enough for fourth place in his age group. In that race he might have finished higher, if not for burning up the first two miles in under 10 minutes, a blistering clip that he paid for later.

“At mile two I was not very far behind the Kenyans,” says Hinds with a laugh. “Then I was done.”

Hinds also won the now defunct Border to Border race put on by Kim Woodruff in the early 90s, finishing the one-mile run, five-mile paddle, 54-mile bike and 7.7-mile run across the panhandle in 4:30.27. He was 48 at the time, and remembers the second-place finisher saying he couldn’t believe he’d lost to someone as old as a tree.

His most recent win earns his the privilege of starting next year’s race as a “second seed,” right behind the elite runners. Defending his title could prove tough, as a traditionally high age-group finisher will be joining the 70-74 year-old ranks.

“It’s the carrot that keeps me going,” he says. “Internally, I’m competitive, it’s always the race I want to do.

“You train for it, and it gets you going.”

Hinds tries to run every other day, sometimes as many as 12 miles, and also does pushups and other exercises to keep fit. He’s raced Bloomsday competitively for 32 of the 36 years, coming up lame a couple of years.

Having achieved his longtime goal, his focus next year is going to be on savoring the experience with his kids.

“Enjoy the race, instead of pounding yourself into the ground,” describes Hinds. “I’ve been blessed to be good at running, and blessed to be somewhat competitive.”