By Shannon Russell
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Jill Tranter, women's winner of the the Humana Heart Mini Marathon 15K run with a time of 56:57. (Michael E. Keating photo) | ZOOM |

Long before Jill Tranter crossed the finish line in the Humana Heart 15K Mini-Marathon on Fountain Square, friends, family and fellow runners expected her to win her fourth straight race.

Tranter, who won Sunday's race in 56:58, accepted compliments gracefully as she made her way out of the finish area. But she was breathing sighs of relief.

Tranter said Karen Crowe, who finished third in 58:21, put pressure on her the entire race.

"It was an incredibly windy day, and I felt like (Crowe) was right behind me," Tranter said. "I just really, really felt like I was working for this race - which is good."

Lisa Veneziano placed second in 58:11.

Tranter had a 30-second-lead at the Delta Avenue turn-around, and never lost the lead in the final stretch.

It wasn't the first meeting between Tranter and Crowe. Tranter is a former Boone County High School coach, and Crowe is a former Notre Dame Academy runner.

Tranter said she coached against Crowe when Crowe was a high school senior.

"She's a marathon runner, so she's definitely better at longer distances and I'm better at shorter distances," Tranter said. "I just felt like I really had to stay focused because (the race) is a lot longer than I'm used to."

Tranter hasn't been able to train as often as she'd like in the past year.

She works two part-time jobs and spends most of her free time with her husband, Scott, and 3-year-old daughter, Macey.

Tranter has no plans to stop running the Mini-Marathon.

"As long as I'm able to run, I'll definitely run this," she said. "Even though it's tough, it's really a neat course."