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GMAA Turkey Trot 2024

The holidays have officially kicked off and with it, GMAA’s 48th annual Turkey Trot,
which took place on the chilly Thanksgiving of November 28th , 2024, with the esteemed goal of
raising a large amount of donations for Feeding Champlain Valley. The hope is always to raise
more money and food donations than the previous year as the race is a donation-based event and
the number of participants in this prestigious race is generally well over 300 participants.
Standing outside in the chilly rain and sleet, it was clear that anticipation was high
amongst runners, trotters, volunteers, spectators, and race directors alike. Many inquiries were
circling around amongst the masses. Questions such as, is it going to snow? Where is the starting
line? Who is Turkey Steve? If I pass out from exertion on the course, will I be carried back or
will my lifeless body be rolled into the woods by the course monitors until the end of the race or
until the end of time? Luckily, no casualties occurred during or after the race, but that
information might be at the discretion of the course monitors.

The air was thick with anticipation as the volunteers eagerly set up registration tables,
GMAA apparel, food bins for Feeding Champlain Valley, and the timing and sound equipment
for the annual event. Upon glancing at the RunSignUp list the night before, 610 participants were
seen to have preregistered, which was almost 100 more registrants than the previous year!! But it
didn’t end there. Around 9:00 am, the doors to Gutterson arena opened and in flooded hordes of
trotters quickly making their way to the registration tables as Jan, Nik Ponzio, Scott Perrapato,
and Brad Sleeper quickly set off to mark the course. Only Brad made it back to the starting line,
leaving the other three gentlemen to monitor the course and keep the runners on track.
Fortunately, our volunteers were ready with pens, registration forms, and raffle tickets for the
world’s greatest raffle. The table was well controlled by the able bodies of Tim Richmond, Okan
Canaran, Hannah Karki, and two other college freshmen from UVM. Papers, pens, and raffle
tickets began to fly as money, checks, and registration papers went back and forth rapidly up
until 9:58 am, 2 minutes before the race began. It was estimated that around 55 participants
registered race day.

As the time came closer to race start, Alex Frank took his rightful place as course monitor
at the top of the bike path and Steve Andrews quickly set the cones around a quarter mile loop
for the kid’s race. Now, for those of you reading this who have asked yourselves, ‘who is Turkey
Steve?’ read no further. At 9:38 am, (7 minutes before the start of the kid’s race), who should
arrive, but Steve Merrill dressed head-to-toe in Ron Cleveland’s turkey costume for everyone to
enjoy, especially the children. At 9:45 am, Steve Merrill became none other than Turkey Steve,
as dubbed by the race director, and Turkey Steve became the lead turkey for the kid’s race,
running with them around the 400m course and home to victory.

As time passed, more and more runners/trotters arrived and were greeted by the soothing
sounds of 80s hair metal reverberating through the air from Gordon MacFarland’s world
renowned sound system and signaling the location of the starting line. With Liz monitoring the
sound system and Alex McHenry controlling the clock, the pre-race line up was starting off
smooth. However, no one can expect a perfect race and shortly after the start of the race, poor
Gordon and Liz’s sound system malfunctioned from the rain, leaving the sounds of silence to be
palpable to everyone waiting for the trotters at the finish line. Thankfully, Alex came to the
rescue and ran his own jean-clad turkey trot from the finish line to Gutterson and back with
GMAA’s working sound system.

At approximately 9:50 am, the runners/trotters were directed to make their way to the
starting line however, panic arose as race participants stretched back as far as the side doors to
the arena, making a large ‘C’ shape down the bike path less than 5 minutes before the race
started. Would they make it?! At the start of the race, we recounted how grateful we were to have
everyone out there, runners, trotters, spectators, and volunteers alike to participate in the Turkey
Trot this year, especially with UVM’s Gutterson arena, bike path, and amenities at our disposal.
At 10 am, the racers were off with the real trotters trailing behind.

To no surprise, fast times were run with the 1 st place male finisher taking the victory with
a time of 15:52 (unofficially) for the men, which was 5 seconds faster than last year’s winner
(unofficially) and following not too far behind was the 2 nd place male finisher who was none
other than GMAA’s Jurdan Mossburg with a time of 17:10. The third place male finisher arrived
shortly after him with a time of 17:12. The 1 st place female finished with a time of 19:29
followed by the 2 nd and 3 rd place females with times of 19:53 and 20:02, respectively. Due to the
unofficial, casual, and fun nature of the race, runners are unable to be unidentified as race bibs
are not provided. To make up for not having gender prize winners, the raffle was twice as big as
last year with donations provided by local vendors such as GMAA’s sponsor, SkiRack, Green
Mountain Massage, Take Good Care Fitness, Mill River Brewing, Ben & Jerry’s, Sangha
Studios, and more. However, this race director is always looking to improve upon how to best
celebrate the Turkey Trotters and their commitment to racing hard.

Following the conclusion of the race, the world’s greatest raffle was held with t-shirts,
pint glasses, running socks, fleece blankets, gift certificates, and more were lying in wait to be
won back in Gutterson arena. Due to the learning experience that was a very lengthy raffle two
years ago, prizes were set out by Tim, Okan, Alex, myself, and Paul Wagner with the winning
raffle ticket numbers written on a sheet of paper so that runners could check to see if they were
lucky enough to claim a prize. This significantly shortened the post-race prize-winning event as
compared to last year.

At the end of the event, when all of the participants had taken their leave in lieu of turkey
dinners and family time, the monetary donations were counted up and the food was prepared to
be shipped off to be weighed. With the careful eyes and mathematical prowess of Tim Richmond
and the use of a calculator, we had an estimated total of $6,000 that was raised between pre-
registration and race-day registrants and 435 lbs of food were obtained for Feeding Champlain
Valley. We hope that next year is equally as or more successful with our donations and
participants next year. I also want to commemorate our volunteers as the race would not have run
as smoothly without them!

Jess Marini
Turkey Trot 2024 Race Director

Turkey Trot 2024 Photos

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GMAA 43rd Kaynor’s Sap Run – 2024 Race Report

On Sunday 7 April 2024 the Green Mountain Athletic Association (GMAA) hosted the 43rd running of the Kaynor’s Sap
Run 10k. The race directors were a bit nervous that the road conditions would be extra challenging due to a late-season snowstorm the week prior but the snow mostly melted and the dirt roads were drier than expected and only left a “normal amount” of mud. The weather was sunny and in the upper 40s for the race – absolutely delightful.

The Sap Run racers are a hearty bunch and were rewarded with local cider donuts and cider as their post-race
replenishment. Prizes for the top 2 finishers in the female, non-binary, and male categories were awarded. There were
also random raffle prizes of SkiRack gift cards, hyper-local maple syrup, and baskets of soap from Twincraft Skincare.

Female top finishers:
1) Grace Gray
2) Anna Milkowski

Non-binary top finishers:
1)Matthew Powers

Male top finishers:
1) John Benner
2) Daniel Peters

Full Results HERE

Race Photos HERE

GMAA is an all-volunteer running club and it would not be possible to put on races without the amazing support of our
race day volunteers. This group is incredible and the race directors are incredibly grateful for their time, energy and
smiles! Many thanks to: Ruth Blauwiekel, Janis Campbell, Jazmyn Sylvester-Cross, Bob Sayers, Liz Champagne, Martha Keenan, Hillary Holmes, Michele Morris, Randi Brevik, Maddy Pfeiffer, and Deb Vogl.

GMAA appreciates our devoted sponsors: SkiRack and UnTapped Natural Athletic Fuel. Thank you!

Happy running!
Diane Fuchs and Tim Richmond
Kaynor’s Sap Run race directors

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Turkey Trot Recap 2022

On the bright, sunny day of November 24th , 2022, the annual GMAA Turkey Trot was
slated to begin at 10 am sharp. The air was thick with anticipation as the volunteers eagerly set
up registration tables, GMAA apparel, food bins for Feeding Chittenden, and the timing and
sound equipment for the annual event. Upon glancing at the RunSignUp list the night before, 300
participants were noted to have preregistered but on a day like the race day, who could resist
signing up? Around 9:00 am, the doors to Gutterson arena opened and in flooded hordes of
trotters quickly making their way to the registration tables. However, with Ruth Blauweikel and
Paul Wagner at the registration tables, there was little to worry about. As quickly as the racers
arrived, food bins immediately started filling up with piles and piles of donated food for Feeding
Chittenden, the local food shelf. It’s possible that Tim Richmond moves quicker when food is
involved than he does otherwise as he motored through stacking, organizing, shifting, and
moving cans, boxes, and bags of food items at record speed.

As time passed, more and more runners/trotters arrived. Many for the kid’s race, which
was put on without setbacks by seasoned Turkey Trot veteran, Anne Treadwell, and many
individual runners who arrived to set PRs, run farther and faster than ever before, and/or to work
for their dinner, which they so anxiously awaited. While the participants were gathering in
Gutterson, an unexpected visit occurred from the local news channels ABC 22 & Fox 44 News
and NCB5. Many of the volunteers were asked if they cared to seize their claim to fame and talk
to the reporters but alas, all of them including previous race director Howard Kalfus, deflected to
this year’s race director to embarrass herself on local news. She is still waiting for the public to
ask for her autograph when she is around town.

At approximately 9:40 am, the runners/trotters were directed to make their way to the
starting line by another seasoned veteran, Gordan MacFarland who graciously took to the
microphone for the 15, 10, 5, and 2-minute countdown to the race start. At the starting line, race
participants stretched back as far as the side doors to the arena, making a large ‘C’ shape down
the bike path. It was later confirmed that 763 registered racers participated in the Turkey Trot
that day, which is about 200 more runners than last year. At the start of the race, we recounted
how grateful we were to have everyone out there, runners, trotters, spectators, and volunteers
alike to participate in the Turkey Trot this year, especially with UVM’s Gutterson arena, bike
path, and amenities at our disposal. At 10 am, the racers were off.

To no surprise, fast times were run with Ethan Mastear taking the victory with a time of
16:12 with Trevor Houches right on his heels with a time of 16:13. Following the two leaders
closely was Porter Hurteau with a time of 16:26. Not too far behind was the winner of the non-
binary category, Matt Powers with a time of 17:21. Less than a minute later, Josephine Brekke
came flying up the path with a time of 18:15, which was the winning female time. The second-
place woman, Katie Barker, held her own on the course with a time of 19:46 followed closely
behind by the 3rd place female Loghan Hughes with a time of 20:06. To close 2nd place for the
non-binary category, Ginnie Laurita fought for the prize with a time of 36:00. Thanks to the
Brooks representative who happened to be at SkiRack during the time that raffle donations were
acquired, the winners of the top 3 categories received a free pair of Brooks shoes.

Following the conclusion of the race, the world’s greatest raffle was held with t-shirts,
pint glasses, running socks, fleece blankets, gift certificates, and more were lying in wait to be
won back in Gutterson arena. We had received donations from Citizen Cider, the YMCA, Queen
City Brewery, Mill River Brewing, Take Good Care Fitness, SkiRack, VT Juice Co., Sangha Studio, and Dunkin’ Donuts just to name a few. In no short time, the greatest raffle in all of the
world became the longest raffle in all of the world as many of the participants had left, with 763
raffle tickets to be called but those who stayed went home happy (one hopes).

At the end of the event, when all of the participants had taken their leave in lieu of turkey
dinners and family time, the monetary donations were counted up and the food was prepared to
be shipped off to be weighed. With the careful eyes and mathematical prowess of Howard Kalfus
and the use of a calculator, a total of $6,332 were raised between pre-registration and race-day
registrants and 416 lbs of food were obtained for Feeding Chittenden. We hope that next year is
equally as successful as this year.

-Jess Marini, Race Director

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2022 GMAA Scholarships Awarded

The GMAA will award three scholarships of $1,000 each to graduating seniors to help fund their college careers.  The winners were chosen among many applicants, and were determined based on their academic achievements, community and school involvement, and their contribution of the sport of running.

The GMAA is Vermont’s largest running club.  Its mission is to promote good health, friendship, and fitness through running.  The GMAA sponsors 11 races throughout the year.

The 2022 scholarship winners are:

Sierra Fisher of South Burlington High School
Sierra was inspired to begin running as a sport when she was in elementary school and her mom was a coach for the Girls On The Run program.  Her best running moment was when she broke 5 minutes for the 1500 run in her final high school race – a goal she had worked towards all season.  Sierra will attend Marist College this fall where she will run on the varsity cross-country and track programs and major in Communications with a focus on sports communication and minor in Business and Italian Studies.

Ethan Mashtare of BFA St. Albans
Ethan was a key member of BFA’s outstanding cross-country and track teams.  Ethan has run blistering times of 1:54 in the 800, and 3:52 in the 1500, which are the second fastest in Vermont history.  Ethan will attend the University of Massachusetts – Lowell this fall and major in Exercise Science and run on the varsity cross-country and track teams.  Ethan is the son of long-time BFA coach Mike Mashtare, who was also a standout runner at BFA.  Ethan also enjoys nordic skiing, hiking, boating, and fishing.

Calvin Storms of BFA St. Albans
It was a banner year for running at BFA, and Calvin was an outstanding member of the cross-country and track and field teams.  Calvin ran outstanding times in the 1500 meters, with a best of 3:59.2, and 1:58 for 800 meters.  He was a member of BFA’s national title winning distance medley and 4×800 meter teams.  He will take his amazing skills to the University of Rhode Island where he will study pharmacy and make an immediate impact on URI’s running program.

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2020 Turkey Trot Report!

The 2020 GMAA Turkey Trot was a bit different than in years past.  Well, we didn’t really have a Turkey Trot.  But then, we sort of did.  We met outside of Gutterson Field House, collected food and cash donations for Feeding Chittenden and an estimated 100 people did show up to run the course (unmarked and unsupported; appropriately distanced, we’re told) after dropping off their donations.  In-person collections happened from 9:00 until 11:00 while online monetary donations took place over the two weeks leading up to Thanksgiving.  A big thanks to the Law Offices of Bauer Gravel & Farnham who gave a matching grant of $1,000.  The food donations totaled 715 pounds (the biggest collection for us in a few years) and the monetary donations totaled $3,117.56 (equally impressive given the current economy).  In addition to those running the course, many more came with their donation before or after doing their own run elsewhere.  The weather was mild with light, intermittent rain.

Had the race actually been held, we’re confident that this would have been how it unfolded:

Anne Treadwell of Burlington lead the pack for most of the race with returning champ Adrienne Brueckner of Swanton close at her heels.  Despite slipping rounding the last turn on the golf course, Anne was able to hold Adrienne at bay and crossed the finish line in 20:24.  Erin Randall of Colchester was a strong contender and actually finished just behind Anne, almost half a minute before Adrienne.  However, post-race tests showed that, at some point during the race, Luna shared her dog treats with Erin in violation of GMAA and USATF anti-doping policies.  Accordingly, Erin was disqualified and Adrienne’s 21:03 earned her a silver medal to compliment last year’s gold.

On the men’s side, Binney Mitchell of Burlington and Allen Mead of Hinesburg had what could only be described as a cage match (or, rather, would be considered a cage match but GMAA bylaws demand that all races be cage-free).  Neck-in-neck for the entire race, the two approached the final stretch with the race clock reading 16:55.  Much to Binney’s eternal shame, his father, Peter Mitchell of Jericho, leading the 80-89 age group, blew past both Binney and Allen, finishing the race in 17:04.  Allen finished second in 17:06.  At the time of this writing, Binney still hasn’t finished the race and is reportedly still laying on the course sobbing inconsolably where he got passed by his old man.

Had there been a race, we’re confident that all past volunteers would have done so again and we thank them for their unquestionable good intentions. 

See below pictures of Tom and Howard forgetting the race was cancelled and wondering where all the runners were and Tom and Howard with the donated food.

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GMAA announces 2020 Scholarship winners!

The GMAA will award three scholarships of $1,000 each to three graduating seniors to help fund their college careers.    The three winners were chosen among many applicants, and were determined based on their academic achievements, community and school involvement, and their love of the sport of running.

The winners are:

Emma Chadwick recently graduated from Essex High School, and will attend M.I.T. to major in aerospace engineering.  Emma was very active in high school, competing in cross-country, Nordic skiing, and track for all four years.  She also earned numerous academic honors, as well as held leadership positions throughout her high school career.  Emma has been involved in running since the 3rd grade, and writes that running “instilled a love for working hard, [and] for setting and achieving goals.”

Wondu Summa is another Burlington graduate, and will attend Franklin Pierce University this fall.  Wondu competed for BHS for all four years, and will continue competing when he enrolls at Franklin Pierce.  Wondu has also earned recognition for citizenship, has volunteered for other events at BHS and other Burlington schools, and is known by his neighbors to help them out with projects whenever he sees them working.  Wondu’s running career has helped him become more creative at school, and has really enjoyed learning.  He writes: “running has taught me so much, both on and off the trails.”

Isabelle Vivanco is a Burlington High School Graduate and will attend Smith College this fall.  She will likely choose a major in public health, library science, or education, and will also compete for Smith’s varsity cross-country team.  Isabelle participated in cross-country, Nordic skiing, and track, and was Burlington’s top runner.  Isabelle also volunteered generously for various activities within BHS and for the city of Burlington.  Isabelle says that running has taught her to be “mentally and physically tough in the face of challenges”, and finds her teams and the community of runners to be “endlessly supportive, inclusive, and inspiring”.

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Virtual Strava Segment Challenge!

Fellow Runners,

We’re all trying to figure out how to balance staying healthy and limiting the spread of COVID, while maintaining our fitness (and sanity). Fortunately for runners, running [1] is still encouraged within reason, and with a safe distance between people.

Since our spring races have been canceled, we thought that we’d put together some virtual challenges to give you some motivation to push yourself.

Starting this week — we’re announcing the Strava GMAA Segment Challenge! To participate, you’ll need a (free) Strava account. You’ll then need to join the GMAA Segment Challenge Strava club. Information is in the first post within the club, and copied below if you want to review before committing [2].

Spoiler: this week’s challenge segment is the Ti Mile in Shelburne! You have until the following Friday to complete the segment and have a chance at winning the weekly prize!

Details:

1) You must be a current GMAA member. Join or renew your membership HERE.
2) You’ll need a GPS watch that syncs to Strava, or use the (free) Strava app on your phone, to participate.
3) Scoring will be done by looking at the Segment Leaderboard on Strava each week filtered to this club.
4) The “Weekly Challenge Segment” will be announced on Thursday evening. You have until the *following Friday at 11:59 PM* to run the segment as many times as you’d like.
5) The organizers will do their best to select a segment that is safe, with no stop signs or dangerous road crossings. However it is your responsibility as a runner to be aware of your surroundings including traffic and other runners.
6) Scoring will not (always) be your traditional ‘fastest time’. The actual method to determine a winner will be announced along with the Segment Challenge each week.

If you have questions or want to check your GMAA membership status, please send a message to gmaa.virtualchallenge@gmail.com

Possible examples include:

– Runner who completes the segment fastest relative to their 5k PR
– Runner who has the greatest improvement in performance on the segment over the week
– Runner who completes segment the most times in the week

[1] Don’t overdo the running and get injured. This is also a good time to get out on a bike!

[2] IMPORTANT: you are responsible for your own safety, and that of others around you. Make reasonable choices about when to run, and keep your eyes on traffic and others even when competing on a Segment.