Jenny Kincaid Boone

Jenny Kincaid Boone has been running since she was in eighth grade. She competed in cross country and track at Fort Defiance High School (Fort Defiance, Va.) and at Roanoke College, where she was all-ODAC in cross country for four years. When her knees and legs aren't aching from the wear of years of competition, she hits the 19 to low 20-minute range for a 5K.

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• A five-miler at the Lake
• Virtual running
• Giving triathlons a try
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Steve Pinard may not be at the front of the pack at local triathlons and road races. But don't let his humbling grin fool you. He's been there before.

In 1988, the Salem resident made it to the semi-final race of the 5,000 meters at the U.S. Olympic trials in Indianapolis. A time of 13 minutes 44 seconds for the 3-mile distance got him there.

Now 44 years old and married with two children, Pinard says it's been awhile since he has hit his former times. But he's picked up a few lessons along his running journey.

Pinard grew up in Stafford County, Virginia, where he competed on the cross country and track teams in high school. At Virginia Tech, he joined both teams as a walk-on until his coach discovered his potential and gave him a partial scholarship. Pinard was one of the top five runners on the Virginia Tech cross country team, and he raced the steeplechase and the 5,000 meters during the track season.

Pinard graduated from Virginia Tech in 1984, but a running career kept calling him. He had his mind set on getting sponsored by Adidas and moved back to Blacksburg to train with his former teammates and coach, while also shaving off some racing time. After he broke 30 minutes for a 10K, Adidas agreed to sponsor him, giving him a small stipend to keep running.

Steve Hetherington, one of Pinard's former teammates at Virginia Tech, and owner of Just the Right Gear, a bike shop in Catawba, said Pinard was a good teammate who enjoyed much of his running success after college.

During his post-collegiate years, Pinard set a Virginia State road race record in the 10K with a time of 28:31.And at the University of Pennsylvania's Penn Relays, he ran 13:42 for the 5,000 meters, his personal best time. Later, he hit 13:44 for 5,000 meters at an Olympic festival competition

Then came Pinard's big moment. The qualifying time for the 1988 Olympic Trials was 13:44, the previous trial's time, because not enough runners had qualified for the 1988 race. Pinard's 5,000-meter time of 13:44 the year before had secured him a place in the competition.

"I kind of squeaked in," he said.

During much of 1988, Pinard said he felt sluggish and his racing times had not been as fast.

Still, he gave the trials a shot. Out of a field of 36 runners, Pinard qualified for the semi-finals in the 5,000 meters. But he didn't run fast enough to qualify for the finals, finishing in the low 14-minute range for the 3-mile race.

Pinard said it was difficult to adjust to running two races, the quarterfinals and the semi-finals, two days in a row for the trials.

"You're used to running one race, and you have a week to recover," he said.

Since his Olympic experience, Pinard's racing times have slowed and his training schedule is different. In 1992, he injured his calf muscle during a track workout. He's also had other nagging injuries and claims that “I’ve probably been hurt more than I've been healthy.”

Pinard exercises daily and alternates his morning workouts with running, swimming or cycling classes at the Salem YMCA. But he says he won’t give up on running and other sports, partly because exercising is his way of staying healthy and controlling his weight.

PINARD FILES
Name: Steve Pinard
Age: 44
Height: 5 feet 11 inches
Weight: 185
Hobbies (other than running): playing golf
Family: Wife—Martha, Daughter—Rachel, Son—Daniel	Steve Pinard bikes during a morning cycling class at the Salem YMCA. Pinard alternates his training with running, swimming or biking on different days of the week
Job: Computer technician at UPS

Pinard says it’s “humbling” when he competes in road races and his times are at least five minutes slower than he once ran.

"You have to keep it relative", he said. “It’s just nice to be healthy enough to go out and do it because I see people my age or younger that can’t, not because they don’t want to, they just can’t.

He’s recently discovered a new passion -- triathlons. Pinard already has completed four local triathlons, and he plans to compete in his next one at Smith Mountain Lake in the spring.

The swimming, biking and running combinations are “a goal to keep my training going,” he said.

Upcoming Races:

Jan. 29: Ground Hog Scurry, Blacksburg

Feb. 5: Masai 5K Trail Race Charlottesville

Feb. 26: Blacksburg Classic 10 mile and 5K

March 5: Explore Park Trail Run, 5K and 10K, Roanoke