There are plenty of incentives for runners to show up in Brewer Sunday for Brewer High’s annual Turkey Trot 5K road race.

. A fast, challenging course. The out-and-back layout on Dirigo Drive produced some positive feedback in its first year and some fast times from some of the 496 runners who competed in 2007, with 10 of them breaking the 17-minute barrier. The old course was an out-and-back course on Parkway South.

. Potentially winning a Thanksgiving turkey. Roughly 50 birds are up for grabs for the overall winners and victors in various age group and team categories.

. Tons and tons of prizes. At the conclusion of the race, gift certificates, many other goodies and a turkey stuffed with cash is given away.

Sounds like runners have quite a few legit reasons to head to Brewer this Sunday as the Turkey Trot celebrates its 27th birthday at 1 p.m.

Registration tables will open at 11 a.m. on race morning, and the event also includes a 1-mile race at 12:30 p.m. for kids ages 13 and under.

This race is the final in the Sub 5 track club’s race series, thus offering local competitors one last chance to renew acquaintances before the holiday season gets off and running.

It also provides an opportunity to run against some of the area’s finest high school and college athletes.

For example, Riley Masters and Hilary Maxim, both of whom have built outstanding running resumes running for Bangor and Old Town High and this year at the University of Maine, are both planning to run and are legit favorites to come away with turkeys.

Masters didn’t run in the race last year while Maxim finished second.

The course is simple. It starts just off Dirigo Drive, at the end of the access road that leads to Hannaford, and crosses Parkway South before continuing on Dirigo.

It is a fast layout, with only one uphill, a fairly small one near the turnaround point, which in turn leads to a quick second half of the race.

Early temperatures for race day call to be in the mid-30s.

All proceeds from the race benefit the sophomore class of Brewer High, and it’s not too late to sign up. Fees are $12 for the 5K and $6 for the mile.

Awards will be presented, male in female, in the following categories to go along with age groups: First high school freshman, sophomore, junior and senior, first Brewer High faculty member, parent of a Brewer student, first club team, corporate team, high school team and family team (top three runners on the winning squad receive a turkey).

Peveradas earn honors

Chris and Molly Peverada will certainly have some bragging rights to share with their family at the Thanksgiving dinner table.

The siblings, former Hampden Academy and current University of Chicago runners, each earned all-region honors at the Midwest Region Cross Country Championships.

Chris Peverada, a senior, covered the eight-kilometer (5 miles) men’s course in 25 minutes, 36 seconds, earning 33rd place.

Molly, a sophomore, finished 29th in 22:53 over 6 kilometers.

The top 35 finishers in each race earned All-Region accolades.

Normann on the run

Frankfort native and former Belfast High runner Grace Normann enjoyed a successful cross country campaign for Guilford College.

Normann, a sophomore at the Greensboro, N.C., institution, competed in seven meets this fall and was Guilford’s top runner in six of them.

She posted her fastest time of the year on Oct. 4 at the Hagan-Stone Classic, clocking a 21:55.2 over 5,000 meters, while her highest finish was at the Maroon Invitational, where she finished 16th in the field.

Normann established a personal record for the 6K distance at the Old Dominion Athletic Conference Championships, finishing 24th overall in 24:50.75 as the Quakers placed sixth out of 10 teams.

rmclaughlin@bangordailynews.net

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