Runners and walkers earned some extra stuffing and pumpkin pie by kicking off their Turkey Day with some exercise this morning in the fifth annual Newtown Turkey Trot 5K race and walk. Mitchell Russo gobbled up first place accolades, completing the 3.1-mile course in a time of 15:47, edging out Jake Feinstein, who came across the finish line in 15:49. The top female was Annemieke Martino, who placed 12th overall, completing the Thanksgiving morning race in 19:25.

The top overall and age category finishers literally did earn some pumpkin pie as they were awarded pies by race volunteers.

Zach Schwartz came in third in a time of 16:00, Kevin Hoyt was fourth in 16:10, and Kevin Harrington followed in fifth with a time of 17:46. There were more than 1,000 participants in the race, which started at Hawley School and finished at Newtown Middle School, on a chilly, 30-something degree morning. Proceeds from the event benefit Cyrenius H. Booth Library.

For the first time in the brief history of the Turkey Trot, runners had a backdrop of snow throughout the course. Volunteers shoveled some areas, including near the middle school parking lot entry where runners came in, cleaning up slick spots on the course after town workers did a nice job to prepare the area streets for safe travel.

“They did a great job cleaning up the course,” said runner Bill Begg, noting that some of the roads in the northern end of town were a bit slick.

A snowy Thanksgiving Eve left everyone involved unsure if the race would be held as planned until race organizers contacted participants and posted information that it was all systems go on the race website early on Thanksgiving.

“Given the iffy weather, the communication from the race director was fantastic,” said participant Wendy Youngblood, of Brookfield, speaking of Jen Reilly, one of the event organizers.

Hoyt and Sarah Mawdsley earned the Grand Prix awards by recording the lowest combined time for their efforts in all three of the Newtown Road Race Series events, which includes the Rooster Run in June and Newtown Road Race in September.

“The course was fine — a couple corners were slushy but nothing to worry about,” said Hoyt, adding that he was happy the conditions were about 15 degrees warmer than last year’s race.

That didn’t mean it was all that easy.

“It was tough, it was cold, but it was fun,” Feinstein said.

Russo, a runner at Boston University, was thrilled to lead the pack. “It feels good,” he said. Russo added that running cross country helps prepare participants for less-than-perfect footing.

“You’ve got to deal with what you’ve got,” said Russo, noting that, given the circumstances, things couldn’t have been any better. “They did a really good job cleaning it up. You can’t ask for much better on a day like today.”

Runners had plenty of encouragement from friends and family members who gathered near the finish line and cheered them on.

“It was great to come back to my hometown and run along Main Street,” said Martino, a 2011 Newtown High School graduate who now runs on the cross country team at St Lawrence University in Canton, NY. Martino added that she practiced on the Turkey Trot course along with friend Katie Burns throughout the summer. The duo, former standout runners at Newtown High, ran together in the Thanksgiving race, too.

Martino admitted that the cool air made it a little difficult to breathe in comparison to what she’s used to.

“I prefer it to the heat, though,” Burns added.

Many of the participants were former or current high school and collegiate athletes, and some were parents and, in the case of Matt Memoli, a parent and coach and teacher.

“I love it. I love getting out early,” said Memoli, Newtown High’s baseball coach, adding that he enjoyed seeing some of his students and was motivated to try and not let any of them beat him to the finish. The reward for his efforts: “I have an excuse — I can eat as much turkey as I want later,” Memoli pointed out.

Some of the participants were giving it their first shot.

“This was my very first race,” said Beth Salaris, adding that she was motivated to run by “a commitment to make myself exercise.”

Salaris said the atmosphere was great

“There was so much support by all of the participants,” she said. “I’m signing up for next year, too.”

For more results, visit the Turkey Trot website, newtownturkeytrot.com, and check out the December 5 print edition of The Newtown Bee.