Held at Grimes Farm, registration for the event kicked off at 7:30 a.m. The race began at 8 a.m. with 52 runners, 43 running in the 5K and nine in the 10K. Patrick Pitts, 33, of Kansas City, was the first to cross the 10K line, and James Johnson won the 5K. They both won free turkeys donated by HyVee.

Johnson, 18, of Marshalltown, was not surprised to finish first as he is also a runner for Simpson College.

“I was chilling the whole time, except for the end when I kicked it up,” he said.

Johnson said he entered because he was going to have to run anyway, and he wanted to do a Thanksgiving 5K.

James Johnson, 18, of Marshalltown, is the first to cross the finish line of the Turkey Day 5K. His finish time was 17.34. A 5K is equal to slightly more than three miles.

“I might as well sign up,” he said. “I didn’t expect it to be this cold until I checked the weather yesterday. [The cold weather] makes my legs a little tight, and the wind on my way back was a little brutal, because I was running against it.”

The event organizers kept an eye on the weather, and when the race started, it was 25 degrees, but felt like 13. There were a few snowflakes drifting down, but nothing steady. The people in the 5K went over the Grimes Farm bridge and looped back to the main parking lot, and the 10K runners went to the end of the bike trail before looping back.

The Turkey Day run was created by United Way 2024 Campaign Co-chair Kate Bowermaster.

“There’s a group of runners in Marshalltown who have talked about doing a Turkey Day race before,” she said. “That’s how this idea came up. I saw what Des Moines was doing, and thought Marshalltown needed something like that.”

Bowermaster was referring to the Des Moines Turkey Trot, an event that attracts thousands of runners. She said a lot of families told her they would participate in the Marshalltown race if it is held again. They would have this year, but had already committed to Des Moines.

United Way Executive Director Kendra Sorenson, who was dressed in a turkey costume for the event, was really happy Bowermaster came up with the idea.

“Each year the co-chairs pick a couple things unique to them, and make it theirs,” she said. “I see this as something that will definitely go forward with next year. We’ve had a lot of really good compliments about having this here, instead of having to drive to Des Moines.”

Plus, Sorenson said by not traveling to Des Moines, it gives people two more hours for their Thanksgiving meal.

“It’s also a great way to burn off the calories before you even eat them,” she said, laughing.

Runners paid to participate at a cost of $35 per person and $20 for youth. All of the proceeds were used for the annual campaign.

“This is going to be a really good boost for our campaign,” Sorenson said. “I know we’re sitting at just over 50 percent right now, and we only have five weeks left.”

The 2024-25 campaign has a goal of $900,000. United Way Board Member Zach Tomesch said they are pulling all of the tricks out of the hat this year.

“If it works for a smaller hit, or a big hit, it’s an attempt to try something, to rally people around it,” he said. “It can’t grow without starting. It’s cool to see them make the attempt.”

Growing the event is something Sorenson is already planning on, and 5K winner Johnson already said he would run again.

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Contact Lana Bradstream at 641-753-6611 ext. 210 or

lbradstream@timesrepublican.com.