By Colleen Kane
The Cincinnati Enquirer

John Sence said it's getting harder, but he couldn't have made it look much easier Sunday morning.

John Sence steps over discarded paper cups on his return trip along Columbia Parkway to the finish. (Michael E. Keating photo) Race photo gallery

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Sence cruised to his sixth victory in the Humana Heart Mini-Marathon 15K in 47:21, 1:47 ahead of second-place finisher Chris Reis.

"I feel like I'm getting old. It's just not as easy," said Sence, 34. "I've got to run races differently. I used to be able to go out, charge to the front and it was over, but today, it was a lot different . . . It feels a lot harder than the first one, but it's a little more gratifying because the work is harder."

At the finish line, Sence was greeted by his 2-year-old nephew, Zach. Sence helped raise $6,000 for this year's race in honor of Zach, who was born with a congenital heart defect.

The American Heart Association doesn't have official numbers yet, but communications director Laurie Fovel said about 11,000 people participated, plus the number of people who registered over the weekend. She also said more than $500,000 was raised to benefit heart disease and stroke research.

"We got all of our goals, the fund raising and the race, so it's a good day," Sence said. "You see so many of those red hats. What I found out through this whole fundraising thing is how many people are affected by heart disease . . . Everybody has a reason to run."

Sence fell behind Reis early, but charged back to take the lead at about the halfway mark. He lengthened the gap on the seventh and eighth miles and on an uphill stretch on Torrence Parkway, and wasn't threatened again.

"As I get older, I find out what my strengths are. It's not the speed. I'm really good on hills," Sence said. "I figured that was the last really hard push, and if I could get rid of (Reis) and make him feel like, 'OK, I've got to run for second now,' then I could hold it."

Sence, one of the best-known local runners, had hundreds of runners cheering and yelling his name as he passed them on the turnaround. He finished averaging 5:06 a mile. His challenger, Reis, 22, might be newer on the local running scene, but Sence thinks he has potential. Reis trains with Sence and several other top runners a couple days a week.

Despite feeling "awful" for much of the race, Reis, a former member of the track and cross country teams and a senior at the University of Cincinnati, ran just his second Heart Mini-Marathon averaging 5:17 a mile to finish in 49:08. He ran his first Mini-Marathon when he was 14, but said this one was tougher.

"I died. I'm not trained for this," Reis said. "I've been running, but I'm not in good enough shape to run like I thought I could, which is why I died."

The unusually warm day, with temperatures reaching the mid-70s during race time, had an effect on many runners, and had paramedics standing by on high alert.

Defending champion T.J. Lentz, 37, placed third in 49:13.

Henry Dennis, another top area runner, did not compete in Sunday's race because he ran in the USA Men's 8K Championships Saturday. He placed 12th there in 23:14.