Greene, Max capture 2014 PPP crowns

Neither has an unbroken string of victories, but Marshall Greene and Sarah Max again showed their dominance in a variety of sports Saturday by taking the men’s and women’s crowns in the 2014 U.S. Bank Pole Pedal Paddle for the sixth and fourth times, respectively.

For Greene, 32, it was a return to the top spot four years after his last victory. in 2010. That was his fifth win in a row, before work and family life intervened in various ways in the ensuing years.

Max, 39, claimed her second straight winner’s mug in the six-stage multi-sport race from the slopes of Mt. Bachelor to the Century Drive bike race, the Deschutes River kayak leg and the sprint to the Old Mill finish line. But she’s won four titles overall, dating back to a pair in 2008-2009.

While Max ran away with her title, well ahead of second-place finisher Carolyn Daubeny, the men’s race was more competitive, with 2011 winner Andrew Boone finishing just behind Greene. Two first-time competitors made the men’s race a close one at the start, as Matt Briggs had the lead heading into the cycling leg, followed by Dakota Blackhorse-von Jess, with Greene third at that stage.

But Greene took the lead for good in the cycling leg, which KSJJ radio race announcer R.L. Garrigus said got a touch of “madness” as a coyote crossed the road.

Greene now is tied for second in the PPP’s history with six victories, matching Ben Husaby. Justin Wadsworth has the most victories, winning eight straight titles from 1989 to 1996.