By John Fay
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Henry Dennis had to figure Thursday's 93rd Thanksgiving Day Race would be a relative jog in the park.

John Sence was sitting out the 10-kilometer event. That made Dennis the odds-on favorite to win Cincinnati's oldest and arguably most prestigious road race.

Dennis did win - in 29:56. But it wasn't easy, thanks to Chris Reis, a University of Cincinnati senior.

"He gave me a hell of a race," Dennis said. "He was in front in the middle two miles. I had to decide whether to gut it out or settle for second."

Dennis, a 28-year-old full-time runner, made his move on the ramp up to the Clay-Wade Bailey Bridge.

"I was chugging the whole way," Reis said. "He made his move on the hill. I kept trying to keep up, but I couldn't stay with him."

Reis, 21, finished second in a personal-best 30:03. T.J. Lentz was third in 31:16.

The race drew a record field of around 12,000. More than 8,900 runners pre-registered, exceeding the number for last year's entire field.

"We had so many people registering this morning," race director Julie Isphording said. "It's been incredible."

Sence, who won the last five Thanksgiving Day Races he entered, decided to skip Thursday's race because he's been struggling with injuries and ran a marathon four weeks ago.

Dennis, a graduate of Colerain High and a four-time all-Big Ten Conference runner for Wisconsin, was the top-ranked runner in town coming into the race. He finished second to Sence last year in 32:32.

But Dennis has improved greatly. He ran a personal-best 29:15 to finish 15th at U.S. 10k Championships last month.

Reis just finished the cross-country season at UC, and finished 134th in the NCAA Championships.

Thursday's showing helped ease the disappointment of that. It also put Reis among the elite local runners.

"Staying with (Dennis) was big for me," Reis said.

Dennis' wife, Sara, had their first child Saturday. Dennis is going to be a stay-at-home dad who runs a lot.

The boy's name? Miles.

"Maybe he'll be a runner," Dennis said. "I don't know though. He'll probably be a musician."

Thanksgiving Day race winners

MALE OVERALL 10K RUN
Henry Dennis, Cincinnati, 29:56

FEMALE OVERALL 10K RUN
Kathryn Krieger, San Francisco, 35:22

MALE AGE GROUP: 1-14
Mitchell Frey, Cincinnati, 35:21

FEMALE AGE GROUP: 1-14
Elise Bascom, Hamilton, 40:41

MALE AGE GROUP: 15-16
Dan Heiser, Cincinnati, 35:01

FEMALE AGE GROUP: 15-16
Ellen Knopf, Cincinnati, 44:58

MALE AGE GROUP: 17-18
Rob Grote, Batesville, Ind., 33:19

FEMALE AGE GROUP: 17-18
Laura Bagge, Cincinnati, 38:46

MALE AGE GROUP: 19-24
Chris Reis, Cincinnati, 30:03

FEMALE AGE GROUP: 19-24
Jennifer Scheerer, Louisville, Ky. 37:42

MALE AGE GROUP: 25-29
Jay Dolmage, Oxford, 31:33

FEMALE AGE GROUP: 25-29
Karen Crowe, Cincinnati, 38:05

MALE AGE GROUP: 30-34
Dan Shore, San Francisco, 32:32

FEMALE AGE GROUP: 30-34
Jill Tranter, Florence, Ky., 36:10

MALE AGE GROUP: 35-39
T.J. Lentz, Cincinnati, 31:16

FEMALE AGE GROUP: 35-39
Michelle Kitze, Kettering, 37:16

MALE AGE GROUP: 40-44
Mark Tensing, Cincinnati, 33:47

FEMALE AGE GROUP: 40-44
Annete Sargent, Mason, 40:26

MALE AGE GROUP: 45-49
Pete Beckman, Cincinnati, 37:21

FEMALE AGE GROUP: 45-49
Anna Allen, Covington, Ky.45:05

MALE AGE GROUP: 50-54
Dennis Geiger, Ft. Thomas, Ky., 37:51

FEMALE AGE GROUP: 50-54
Wanda Shaw, Mason, 45:08

MALE AGE GROUP: 55-59
Sam Robison, Oxford, 40:25

FEMALE AGE GROUP: 55-59
Barbara Janssen, Cincinnati, 49:43

MALE AGE GROUP: 60-64
Gary Miller, Batavia, 40:45

FEMALE AGE GROUP: 60-64
Anneliese Meyer, Lombard, Ill., 59:11

MALE AGE GROUP: 65-69
Gary Crawford, Maineville, 46:53

FEMALE AGE GROUP: 65-69
Laura Booke, Cincinnati, 1:04:07

MALE AGE GROUP: 70-74
Jerry Hoffman, Cincinnati, 51:57

FEMALE AGE GROUP: 70-74
Hilary Lenze, Indianapolis, 49:44

MALE AGE GROUP: 75-79
Cliff Dornette, Cincinnati, 1:15:37

MALE AGE GROUP: 80-99
Greg Borchers, 38:32

FEMALE AGE GROUP: 80-99
Julie Longhauser, Harrison, 57:30