Nearly 10,000 people gathered at Public Hall on Thanksgiving morning, last Thursday, Nov. 27, for the 44^th Annual Cleveland Turkey Trot, brought by CSU Rec Center and Viking Public House.

The blustery weather didn’t stop 9,658 runners, onlookers, and plenty of costumed attendees from heading downtown, says race organizer Hermes Cleveland’s Joe Neroni.

“It was awesome,” he says, “especially with the cold windy conditions!”

Leslie Srodek-Johnson, who recently submitted her photos for the Second Annual FreshWater Cleveland Turkey Trot Costume Contest, agrees with Neroni. “We had a great time—cold temps and all,” She exclaims. 

Runners and walkers of all ages and abilities, from every corner of Ohio, south to South Carolina, Georgia and Florida, west to Arizona and Texas, northwest to Chicago and even Seattle came out to race.

A large segment of the nearly 10,000 attendees also donned seasonal costumes, with a hearty portion of random creative costumes, to get in the holiday spirit, to stay extra warm on the blustery day, or to participate in the Turkey Trot Costume Contest (the deadline for photos is today).

Money for good causes

Nine local charity organizations partnered with Turkey Trot this year—bringing volunteers to the event to help with registrations, pass out water to racers, and assist with food distribution.

The volunteers’ efforts paid off— $16,141 was raised by 974 donors for nine local organizations—benefitting:

• Greater Cleveland Food Bank ($8,470)
• Cleveland Rape Crisis Center ($3,775)
• Cuyahoga County Children and Family Services ($1,358)
• Thanksgiving Heroes ($750)
• Love Doesn’t Shove ($689)
• Easter Seals ($431)
• Greater Cleveland Young Marines ($387)
• Cardinal Crew ($146)
• Live Inspired ($134)

Race results

Turkey Trot brought out runners to compete in the 5-mile race and the 5K race, while the one-mile option provided a more leisurely, less competitive alternative.

5-Mile Race

The top three male finishers in the 5-mile race were:

• Johnny Sayle of Columbus, with a time of 25:13:53 took first place
• Adam Jones of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, with a time of 25:21:34 came in second
• Elliot Rodstrom of Cleveland, with a time of 25:24:04 placed third.

The oldest male runner in the 5-mile was 68-year-old Peter Dyczkiewycz of Northfield with a time of 56:21:84.

The top three women finishers in the 5-mile were:

• Blair Durda of Brecksville with a time of 30:03:08
• Katrina Ivancic of Bozeman, Montana, with a time of 30:54:43
• Elly Heine of Medina with a time of 31:41:03.

Two 69-year-old women competed as the oldest women in the 5-mile race, Beth Sersig of Cleveland Heights had a time of 51:19:97, and Patricia Saladin of Amherst had a time of 55:56:06.

The youngest runners were six-year-old M. Majewski of Cleveland with a time of 56:17:47 and six-year-old C. Minehart of Rocky River with a time of 1:30:51:29.

5K Race

The top male finishers in the 5K race were:

• Michael Hanselman of Bay Village with a time of 15:47:11
• Isaak Keller of Seven Hills with a time of 15:52:06
• Ruairi Zuercher of Rocky River with a time of 16:00:10

81-year-old John McCarrier, with a time of 30:32:09, was the oldest man to compete in the 5K.

The top three women finishers in the 5K were:

• Suzy Lecoutre of Rocky River with a time of 17:23:57
• Anneken Vilijoen of Rocky River with a time of 17:41:82
• Bri Lee of Rocky River with a time of 18:31:97

Two 86-year-olds were the oldest women to compete in the 5K: Marianne Semrad of Cleveland with a time of 1:01:49:71; and Janet Kasparson of Crozet, Virginia with a time of 1:11:18:77.

The youngest 5K runner was just two years old: J. Walker of Columbus ran the 5K in 49:09:36. Three-year-old K. Seto of Strongsville ran the 5K in 32:37:82 and placed third in the Female 10 and Under division, and three-year-old I. D’Onofrio of Lexington, Kentucky ran the race in 40:52:44.

Dress in your best… costumes

The 2025 race results may be on the books, but now it’s time to determine who had the best costumes this year!

Submissions to the photo contest are underway, and the deadline to submit costume photos is today, Monday, Dec. 1. Contest will be chosen in three categories: individual, group, and pet. Photos submissions can be emailed to TurkeyTrotPics@freshwatercleveland.com.

Voting opens tomorrow, Tuesday, Dec. 2, so get those photos submitted today! Full contest instructions can be found on FreshWater’s Turkey Trot page.

The individual and group winners will be awarded FreshWater T-shirts, gift baskets from CLE Urban Winery, and other goodies. The pet costume contest winner will receive a pet gift basket.