Connect with us

Running

Cold, rain doesn’t stop a record turnout at Falcon 5K Turkey Trot

Runners race off from the start of Thursday’s Falcon 5K Turkey Trot in Avon.

AVON, Nov. 28, 2024 – It was 39 degrees, cloudy and raining. A great day to be outside to run 3.1 miles, eh?

“Every day is a good day to run,” a smiling Mareen Ek said on Thursday morning.

Not only did Ek, a member of the University of Vermont cross country and track program, get in a good 3.1 mile but she won the sixth annual Falcon 5k Turkey Trot that began and finished at Thompson Brook School.

Despite the challenging conditions, a record 481 runners finished the race. There were 675 runners that pre-registered for the race and there were 30 runners that showed up on Thursday morning ready to run – despite the cold, rainy conditions.

“I think the rain adds to it,” Ek said. “It’s more entertaining. Your puddle jumping and jumping around.”

She also ran down the competition. Ek was 22nd overall and won the women’s race with a time of 19:31 beating fellow Avon High alumni runners Erin McGuire, who was 26th overall in 19:50 and Ashley Martin, who was 31st with a time of 20:00.

“I was chasing ponytails for a while,” Ek admitted.

Avon’s Mareen Ek won the women’s division of the Falcon 5K Turkey Trot on Thursday morning.

The winner of the overall race was Unionville’s Jacob Olson, a former runner at the University of Nebraska. Olson won the race with a record time of 15:33, shattering the previous record of 16:36 set in 2022 by William Armbruster.

Olson won the race by nearly a minute with Greg Schroeder coming in second with a time of 16:27 and Armbruster taking third in 16:30.

“It was the last chance to get in a race before the cold sets in,” Olson said.

The race is the main Avon Booster Club fundraiser for the Avon cross country program, allowing the team to offer $1,000 scholarships to Avon High athletes heading to college along with paying for a new timing system for home meets.

Members of Avon’s current cross country and track and field participated along with athletes from the Falcon football, soccer, crew, volleyball and field hockey teams along with parents and siblings.

The race also donates funds to the Avon Booster Club and the Avon Fire Department. The race committee also donated money to the Shields family for a holiday dinner, according to Cathy Platz, co-chair of the race committee. Sam Shields, a member of the boys soccer program and an Avon High student, was injured in a bicycling accident in September.

Any excess food for the runners (bananas, apples, water, drinks) was donated to Gifts of Love.

Platz was thrilled with the turnover – even in tough conditions.

“It’s very exciting. We’re very lucky,” she said. “We have a great community that is very supportive.”

Falcon 5K Turkey trot
At Avon
Overall:
Jacob Olson, Unionville, 15:33 for 3.1 miles (new course record. Old record 16:36, Will Armbruster, 2022), 2. Greg Schroeder 16:27, 3. William Armbruster, 16:30, 4. Caleb Davis, Simsbury, 16:40, 5. Andrew Hawk 16:58, 6. Chris Regalbut, 17:19, 7. Pat Dennen 17:27, 8. Daniel Gomez 17:41, 9. Steven Gooler 18:03, 10. Colin Paul 18:04
Top 10 women: Marenn Ek (22nd overall), Avon, 19:31, 2. Erin McGuire (26) 19:50, 3. Ashley Martin (31) 20:00, 4. Madison McGarry (38) 20:27, 5. Christine Neskie (40) 20:49, 6. Christine Oberhausen (41) 20:59, 7. Christina Martin (49) 22:00, 8. Leah Chen (52) 22:08, 9. Brigit Martina (65) 22:59, 10. Ying Ying Cheng (65) 22:41
NOTE: There were a record 481 runners who finished the 6th annual race.
Complete results: 2024 Falcon 5K Turkey Trot

Gerry deSimas, Jr., is the editor and founder of The Collinsville Press. He is an award-winning writer and has been covering sports in Connecticut and New England for more than 40 years. He was inducted into the New England High School Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2018.

More in Running