Runners endure challenging course for historic race

PEORIA (25News Now) - Sunday was a nice sunny day to run in Peoria’s oldest race.

Dozens of runners took on the challenge of the 52nd Annual Turkey Trot.

The 4-mile race poses a difficulty for runners as part of the course is running up a large hill and on grassy terrain.

The top two finishers in each division won a free turkey from Hy-Vee.

Peoria Park District Athletics Coordinator Justin Falwell describes how this race pushes runners to really lean on their endurance to successfully complete this run, ”running uphill is just good training for runners in terms of getting that endurance up. I think that’s a lot of what appeals to our regular runners.”

The first man to cross the finish line completed the course in just over 21 minutes.

The first woman completed the 4-mile run in just over 28 minutes.