Because of the impact of the coronavirus and social distancing practices, the Newtown Turkey Trot benefiting the C.H. Booth Library was a virtual event for the first time; participants ran their own courses and submitted results during the long Thanksgiving Weekend, so it was up to them if they wanted to earn their extra helping of stuffing and pumpkin pie with a run before Turkey dinner or burn it off this time around.

According to online results, there were 125 finishers of the 5K race. The top two runners were Andrew Bauer of Providence, R.I., and Jack Bauer of Cumberland, R.I., with times of 18:11 and 18:55. Redding’s Sean Cunningham came in third in 19:37.

Sandy Hook’s Jake Gonski was the number one hometown finisher, coming in fourth with a time of 20:18. Sandy Hook/Newtown runners claimed the next few spots with Matheus Costa placing fifth in 23:13, John Gonski sixth in 23:26, and Jeff Capeci seventh in 23:27.

Sarah Ferris, of Silver Spring, Md., a native of Newtown, was the top female and came in eighth in a time of 23:45.

Sandy Hook’s Matthew Barra and Newtown’s Cory Benson rounded out the top ten with times of 23:46 and 23:57. Sandy Hook’s Ally McCarthy was 11th in 24:07. Sandy Hook’s Ken Bogursky came in 12th in 24:11.

C.H. Booth Library Director Douglas Lord, of Burlington, was 13th with a time of 24:18. Lord donned special CH Booth Library speed socks, complete with the red rooster logo. Who says Thanksgiving is all about the turkey bird?

The 14th- through 20th-place finishers are all Newtown/Sandy Hook representatives: Gary Lawler placed 14th in 24:27; Joseph Brown was 15th and Tim Frawley came in 16th, with both clocking in at 24:30; Ryan Clancy placed 17th in 24:36; Donald Smith came in 18th in a time of 24:38; Bill McCarthy was 19th in 25:15; and Luke Albrecht was 20th in 25:17.

The Gonskis attend the event as a family every year, with the father-son duo of John and Jake both participating in the race each time. It was quite a bit different without the usual crowd of runners and supportive family and friends, along with other members of the community gathered to cheer on the runners.

Jake ran solo in his neighborhood on Thanksgiving and noted that the rain and not having anybody to keep pace with, in addition to his lifting weights before the virtual race, led to his time not being as good as it was last year. Nonetheless, he earned that meal.

This was a running-related milestone Thanksgiving for John who, the Sunday before, ran his 100th race as part of the Run 169 Towns Society — a group whose members strive to run a race in all of the state’s cities or towns. John hit the century mark by checking Waterbury off his list in the five-mile Fischang-Cicchetti Memorial Road Race, clocking in at 34:48. John, who ran his usual running route on the Sunday after Thanksgiving to complete the virtual Turkey Trot, said he missed the adrenaline rush that comes along with all of the runners together at the start of the traditional race.

“It’s definitely not the same — you’re alone,” said Ferris, who ran the day after Thanksgiving in Maryland. She has run the Newtown race several times. “The fun part is being with family and looking forward to a big meal together afterward.”

Although the format was different, Ferris made the most of it, and has taken advantage her opportunity to run more as a result of the pandemic preventing her from going to gyms for exercise. Although the impact of the coronavirus also prevented Ferris from running her third marathon this fall, she said the increased mileage overall led to an improved Turkey Trot race time this year.

Newtown resident Deborra Zukowski and her family, who make their homes from here to California, made the race a family event via technology.

“The Newtown Turkey trot brought my family together — from the east to the west. My daughter, husband’s two siblings, and I each ran the 5K, and chatted about it over Google Meet on Thanksgiving afternoon. Hopefully we can have the best of both worlds next year — to again enjoy the camaraderie of fellow runners and spectators along the way, as well as running in spirit with those we love who may be far away,” Zukowski said.

Lord ran his course in Burlington around dusk on Thanksgiving.

“In some ways I like solo/virtual running better because it is my moving meditation time,” said Lord, who joked that running after his Turkey dinner was kind of like running in molasses.

“I am so humbled and grateful for the support of the runners, the Trustees who donated time and energy, and the businesses that sponsored the event. This special funding goes to fun, free educational programs for all ages, technology that provides the fastest WiFi in town, and books, films, and digital content for everyone and anyone,” Lord said.

“The library returns as much as $11.65 to the community for every dollar it receives, and every dollar counts. I’m not talking about abstract concepts like building a stronger democracy or inspiring curiosity in people; the library’s [return on investment] is measured in cold hard cash. A well-funded library raises surrounding property values, helps develop an intelligent workforce, makes the community more attractive to businesses, and makes local social services more efficient,” Lord added.

Complete results of the virtual Turkey Trot.