It was an upstream battle for runners Saturday, but some usual local winners sprang to the challenge and triumphed again.

More than 400 runners flowed through the streets and trails of west Bend for the Solaire Salmon Run 2008 races.

The 16th annual event, which includes races of 5 and 10 kilometers, has become a community tradition of sorts.

Many runners use the race to gauge their running fitness level in the days before Bend’s popular multisport event, the Pole Pedal Paddle.

Others are out to help raise awareness of environmental issues in Central Oregon, particularly the local river and stream restoration projects to which most of the Salmon Run’s proceeds are directed.

The overall women’s winner Saturday in the 10K, Bend’s Lisa Nye zoomed across the finish line in 37 minutes, 23 seconds.

A humble Nye, 39, blended into the sea of finishers after the race. She smiled wide as she shared her thoughts on the race and the cause.

“I’m not getting faster these days, but I’m keeping at it,” said Nye.

“It’s a good community event, a fun way to kick off the spring running season,” she added.

Then she explained why the Central Oregon Environmental Center benefit hit home for her.

“I worked on water issues with Deschutes (River) Basin for a long time, and my husband works for the Deschutes Land Trust, and we both grew up in Bend,” said Nye. “So I think just keeping Bend a beautiful place and keeping the outdoors of Bend beautiful is really important to us.

“It’s really nice to have a cause like this that rallies the community to go out and get exercise as well as preserve what a unique environment that we have here.”

Nye also noted some of the Deschutes River’s history. When she was growing up in Bend, she recalled, the Deschutes was off limits to recreational use.

“Having this new park (Mc-Kay Park, which stretches along the river by the Colorado Avenue Bridge, where the race started and finished) and celebrating the river more is a neat thing that has happened in Bend,” she said, “because I think people take more advantage of the river NOW than they were when we were growing up. … There’s more appreciation for how unique having this river come through town is.”

The women’s second- and third-place finishers were Bend’s Katie Caba and Evelyn Dong. Caba, racing in the age 35-39 category clocked in 38:08.7, while 22-year-old Dong finished the race in 40:08.0.

The winner of the men’s 10K race was Zach Violett of Bend. Violett’s finishing time was 34:55.9, nearly three seconds ahead of second-place finisher Devon Schulz, 37, of Redmond, who clocked in at 34:58.5.

Bend’s Jeff Caba finished third overall (35:15.7) and second in his 35-39 age category.

Violett, 25, is a member of XC Oregon, the elite Bend-based cross-country ski team. He said he races in only a few running events each year.

His main motivation to run Saturday, he said, was to prepare for the PPP, which takes place May 17.

“We (the XC Oregon team) are doing a little Pole Pedal Paddle training and stuff, but not run specific training. But I’m in good shape — we just got done with ski season,” he said of his race preparation, adding that he wanted to test his legs in advance of the PPP.

In the 5K, Bend’s Laura Fritz, 40, and Ron Carpenter, 45, were the top finishers in the women’s and men’s fields, respectively.

Carpenter is on a recent winning streak in local races, starting with the Cascade Crest cross-country ski race held in late March. He also won the Light of Hope 5K on April 20. Carpenter finished Saturday’s race in 16:53.5. Fritz clocked in at 20:30.4.

The second- and third-place finishers in the men’s race were James Nelson (40-44 age category) and Ryan Brown (25-29), both of Bend, clocking in at 17:21.9 and 18:19.2, respectively.

Among the women, Gretchen Horstman, racing in the age 30-34 bracket, finished second in a time of 21:17.1, while Cindy Brennan was third in 22:05.5.

“It’s really early in the season for everybody, so a lot of people are just trying to get their legs under them again and to move fast again,” said Fritz. “I think that is what it is for everybody — just kind of get a gauge for what their fitness level is this time of year.”