The Feaster Five Thanksgiving Day Road Race, or more commonly called the Feaster Five, is a 5 mile

Long-distance track event

Long-distance track event races require runners to balance their energy. These types of races are predominantly aerobic in nature and at the highest level, exceptional levels of aerobic endurance is required more than anything else...

 road race

Road running

Road running is the sport of running on a measured course over an established road . These events would be classified as long distance according to athletics terminology, with distances typically ranging from 5 kilometers to 42.2 kilometers in the marathon. They may involve large numbers of runners...

 held annually in Andover, Massachusetts on the fourth Thursday in November, Thanksgiving Day

Thanksgiving (United States)

Thanksgiving, or Thanksgiving Day, is a holiday celebrated in the United States on the fourth Thursday in November. It has officially been an annual tradition since 1863, when, during the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national day of thanksgiving to be celebrated on Thursday,...

. The Feaster Five Road Race is one of the Bay State's largest five mile races (an estimated 7,000 participants in 2008). The race has been held every Thanksgiving morning since 1988 and is one of a number of races across the nation known colloquially as a "Turkey Trot

Turkey Trot

A Turkey Trot is a fun run or footrace, usually of the long-distance variety, that is held on or around Thanksgiving Day in the United States. Americans anticipate indulgent Thanksgiving feasts and run in turkey trots to burn off calories before the big meal....

."

Proceeds from the race benefit Merrimack Valley Hospice and the Merrimack Valley YMCA

YMCA

The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...

.

Children ages 2 - 12 can participate in a shorter one kilometer race called The Kids K.

History

On November 24, 1988 the first Feaster Five was held and approximately 300 runners finished the race. The first men's winner was Ken Pliska and Amy Legacki was the winner in the women's division.

The second race in 1989 almost did not happen because of an early nor'easter

Nor'easter

A nor'easter is a type of macro-scale storm along the East Coast of the United States and Atlantic Canada, so named because the storm travels to the northeast from the south and the winds come from the northeast, especially in the coastal areas of the Northeastern United States and Atlantic Canada...

 that deposited more than six inches of heavy wet snow on the course at the start of the race. Approximately 400 runners completed the race in near whiteout

Whiteout (weather)

Whiteout is a weather condition in which visibility and contrast are severely reduced by snow or sand. The horizon disappears completely and there are no reference points at all, leaving the individual with a distorted orientation...

 conditions. In 1990, apple pies

Apple pie

An apple pie is a fruit pie in which the principal filling ingredient is apples. It is sometimes served with whipped cream or ice cream on top...

 were given out to all runners; a tradition that continues every year.

In 1992, Johnny Kelley

Johnny Kelley

John Adelbert "Johnny" Kelley was an American long-distance runner who twice represented his native country at the Summer Olympics, in 1936 and 1948....

 appeared as an honored guest at the start of the race. This was also the first year walkers were officially allowed into the race. In 1996, Lynn Jennings

Lynn Jennings

Lynn Jennings is a retired American athlete who competed mainly in the long distances. She is one of the best female American runners of all time, with a range from 1500 meters to the marathon. She excelled at all three of the sport's major disciplines--track, road, and cross country...

, the winner of the bronze medal in the 1992 Summer Olympics

1992 Summer Olympics

The 1992 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event celebrated in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, in 1992. The International Olympic Committee voted in 1986 to separate the Summer and Winter Games, which had been held in the same...

 for the 10,000 meters, places first in the woman's division. In 2000, FRID timing

Transponder timing

Transponder timing is a technique for measuring performance in sport events. A transponder working on a radio-frequency identification basis is attached to the athlete and emits a unique code that is detected by radio receivers located at the strategic points in an event.Prior to the use of this...

 was used for the first time to obtain a more accurate time for each runner.

In 2004, actor Matt Damon

Matt Damon

Matthew Paige "Matt" Damon is an American actor, screenwriter, and philanthropist whose career was launched following the success of the film Good Will Hunting , from a screenplay he co-wrote with friend Ben Affleck...

 ran the race along with his father Kent. In 2005, women runner/walkers outnumbered men for the first time. In 2009, more than 9, 147 runner and walkers register for the race and the first ever woman's Olympic marathon champion Joan Benoit Samuelson

Joan Benoit

Joan Benoit Samuelson is an American marathon runner, who won gold at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, the year that the women's marathon was introduced. As a result she was the first ever women's Olympic marathon champion. Benoit Samuelson still holds the fastest times for an American...

 wins first place in the woman's division at the age of 52.

In 2011, Senator Scott Brown

Scott Brown

Scott Brown is a United States senator.Scott Brown may also refer to:-Sportsmen:*Scott Brown , American college football coach of Kentucky State...

 officially started the 24th Feaster Five Road Race.

8 kilometer course

The 8 kilometer race begins on Main Street at the intersection of Route 28 and Route 133

Massachusetts Route 133

Route 133 is an east–west Massachusetts state route that runs from Lowell to Gloucester.-Route description:Route 133 begins at the junction of Route 38 and Route 110 in Lowell, where Route 110 begins a concurrency with Route 38 northbound. Route 133 heads east from this point, heading...

. The first mile is mostly uphill and goes through the historic Andover Center. The course then turns left of Morton Street, left on Bartlett Street, and then a right onto Chestnut Street. The course then makes a left onto Pasho Street. a right onto Summer Street, a left onto Washington Street, a left onto Elm Street, a right on Maple Street, and then a quick left turn on Walnut Avenue. When the runner take a right onto High Street they join up with the runners from the 5 kilometer race. The 8 kilometer runners keep to the right side of the street while the 5 kilometer runners keep to the left. The race then proceeds to a left on Haverhill Street for approximately 1/2 mile and then makes a right turn on York Street and uphill to the finish at the Brickstone Square parking lot.

5 kilometer course

The 5 kilometer race begins at the same time and place of the 8 kilometer race, but takes a left turn at the top of the hill on Elm Street. The runners then make a left turn onto High Street and later merge with the runners from the 8 kilometer race at the corner of High and Walnut Streets. The race then proceeds to a left on Haverhill Street for approximately 1/2 mile and then makes a right turn on York Street and uphill to the finish at the Brickstone Square parking lot.

5 kilometer

Year	Male winner			Female winner
1995	Michael Cronin		16:41	Mary Donahue		18:20
1996	Guy Sterns		15:51	Kara Molloy		19:23
1997	Dan Lebeoeuf		16:42	Jennifer Lincoln		18:30
1998	Matthew Ely		16:12	Jennifer Lincoln-Toomey		17:44
1999	Matt St. Germaine		15:44	Kara Molloy		18:43
2000	Matthew Ely		15:55	Courtney Famiglietti		20:07
2001	Doug Martyn		16:13	Jessica Parrott		18:52
2002	Tim Galebach		16:18	Miae Jacobs		19:02
2003	Matthew Ely		16:14	Melissa Donais		19:03
2004	Phil Shaw		16:18	Melissa Donais		19:04
2005	Harry Norton		16:16	Meaghan Shaw		19:09
2006	Harry Norton		15:52	Katie Twarog		18:46
2007	Harry Norton		15:40	Allison McCabe		18:04
2008	Glenn Randall		15:57	Allison McCabe		18:34
2009	Eric Narcisi		16:31	Allison McCabe		18:11
2010	Kevin Alliette		16:00	Allison McCabe		18:57
2011	Kyle White		17:45	Melissa Donais		19:36

8 kilometer

Year	Male winner			Female winner
1988	Ken Pliska		Unknown	Amy Legacki		Unknown
1989	Unknown		Unknown	Unknown		Unknown
1990	Unknown		Unknown	Unknown		Unknown
1991	Unknown		Unknown	Unknown		Unknown
1992	Unknown		Unknown	Unknown		Unknown
1993	Scott Bagley		24:07	Gina Sperry		28:04
1994	George Yiannelis		24:18	Lisa Senatore		28:04
1995	George Yiannelis		24:07	Joan Samuelson		27:39
1996	Dave Dunham		24:38	Lynn Jennings		27:33
1997	Chris Teague		25:00	Lynn Jennings		28:08
1998	Chris Teague		24:18	Terri-Anne McGettrick		28:44
1999	Dave Hinga		24:06	Terri-Anne McGettrick		28:21
2000	Chris Teague		25:01	Terri-Anne McGettrick		29:41
2001	Michael Smith		24:56	Suzy Walsh		29:29
2002	Dave Hinga		25:19	Kara Haas		29:33
2003	Casey Moulton		24:40	Terri-Anne McGettrick		28:40
2004	Dave Hinga		25:42	Simonetta Piergentili		30:09
2005	Matt Pimental		25:55	Terri-Anne McGettrick		30:38
2006	Patrick Moulton		25:15	Terri-Anne McGettrick Arpin		30:07
2007	Tobias Lundgren		25:27	Kim Webster		29:31
2008	Harry Norton		25:24	Kim Webster		29:52
2009	Nate Jenkins		24:44	Joan Samuelson		30:10
2010	Nate Jenkins		24:10	Catherine Beck		29:44
2011	Nate Jenkins		24:25	Joan Samuelson		30:21

External links

• Official Feaster Five Road Race Site