It was just another run in the park for Johnna Koenig — sort of.

The 29-year-old Sammamish resident claimed her first Beaver Lake Triathlon victory in three tries on Saturday morning, winning the overall female competition in 1 hour, 18 minutes and 23 seconds.

“My husband and I run this all the time,” she said. “We live just down the street, so it’s nice, this is our back yard.”

Koenig finished fifth last year in 1:22:42. She ran the race once before in 2001, finishing fourth in 1:23:55.

The secret to her success this time around came via a much faster start. Koenig exited the quarter-mile swim in a tie with fellow Sammamish resident Piper Strand, in 6:16, but pulled away just moments after taking to the 13.8-mile bike ride.

“I was just trying to go hard,” Koenig said. “There was one girl in front of me who beat me out of the transition, and I just wanted to pull ahead of her.”

She did just that, never surrendering the lead. Koenig completed the bike ride in 39:56 and the 4.3-mile run in 29:01. She became the first Sammamish woman to win the race since Cynthia Krass in 2006.

Strand ended the race in fifth place at 1:22:46, while Nichole Jacobson of Bellevue took second in 1:22:10.

Gregory Gallagher, 40, of Spokane won the men’s overall triathlon in 1:11:24. This was his first time competing in the Beaver Lake Triathlon — and one of his first wins ever.

“I was able to come out as a Master (40 and older) and hold my own,” Gallagher said.

Gallagher, who led the bike race until about the 7-mile mark, dropped back into sixth place after reaching the hilly portion of the race. He fought back into third at the 10-mile mark of the bike ride, and pulled into first after reaching his strength, the 4.3-mile run.

“I got off on the run, and I was about second until a quarter-mile into it, and then I was able to take the lead and hold on,” Gallagher said.

He said he used Saturday’s race a preparation for the Canadian Ironman, Aug. 30 in Penticton, B.C. All the funds Gallagher raised for Saturday’s race on his Web site, www.tri4kids.org, went to the oncology unit at Sacred Heart Children’s Hospital in Spokane.

The highest local male finisher was 39-year-old Sammamish resident Steven Bailey. He took 10th place overall in 1:15:19.

Saturday’s race was the 16th annual Beaver Lake Triathlon. There were 417 athletes who finished the race, down from 521 in 2008.