The 2019 GMAA Turkey Trot was quite a bit warmer than last year’s race, which is to say that, without the wind chill, it was still just below 30 degrees Fahrenheit. The course was slick in some spots with some good-sized puddles in others. Despite less-than-ideal conditions, we had more than 500 runners between the kids’ race and the 5K.
As always, the run benefited Feeding Chittenden (formerly the Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf). Approximately 500 pounds of food and $2,942 in cash and checks was donated to Feeding Chittenden!
The top male finisher this year was Brendan Copley of Colchester with a time of 17:17. He was followed by John Stanton-Geddes of Burlington with a time of 17:23 and Teage O’Connor, also of Burlington, with a time of 17:49. Brendan and John were also winners of gift certificates for a pair of Hoka One One shoes.
The top female finisher was Adrienne Brueckner of Swanton who crossed the line at 20:40. She was followed by Elizabeth Simak of Burlington with a time of 21:35. There was a tie for third-place women between Katie Barker of Burlington and last-year’s champion, Katherine Cook of South Burlington. Katie and Katherine ran a 22:29. Adrienne and Elizabeth won Hoka One One gift certificates as well.
The race was co-directed again this year by Tom Nuovo and Howard Kalfus. Mike Kennedy organized this year’s kids’ race with an estimated 35-40, high-energy participants! As usual, a cadre of additional outstanding volunteers made setup, registration, the kids’ race and 5K as well as the raffle a smooth venture. Those volunteers were Liz Champagne, Mark and Anna Ferrara, Anna and Josh Kalfus, Lee Krohn, Carlie Krolick, Joe, Mike and Nancy Landry, Allie Nerenberg, Erin Randall, Wayne Reisberg, Bob Sayers and Kirsten Wiley.
Local businesses again generously donated cash and valuable prizes which were raffled off. Each volunteer and each runner received one free raffle ticket. Many thanks go out to those generous businesses: Bauer Gravel Farnham, LLP, Ben & Jerry’s, Hoka One One, RunVermont, Ski Rack and Kirsten Wiley Massage Therapy. Thanks also to the Nuovo family for donating local maple syrup and Cabot Whey Powder!