Hundreds Raise Tens of Thousands of Dollars for Food Pantries at Thankful 5K
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| Lauren and Hazel Osborne finish Thursday's Thankful 5K at Berkshire Community College. |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. -- Lauren Osborne did not finish in the top 10 of Thursday morning's 10th annual MountainOne Thankful 5K.
Not even the top 100.
But with their full-fledged turkey costumes, it was a shoo-in that she and her husband Carl would be in the running for best dressed.
At 9 a.m., the Osborne family toed the line for the 3.1-mile circuit around the Berkshire Community College campus, out West Street and back to the parking lot.
Unlike most of the 561 runners who finished the course, the Osbornes wore festive attire that included "feathers" that stretched from their wrists to their waists.
The family has competed in the annual fund-raiser for county food banks several times over the years when they were in the area visiting family. But Thursday marked the first time they trod the course in turkey gear.
"You get some wid resistance," Lauren said, saying that the feathers don't restrict arm movement as much as one might think. "It's not too bad. It keeps you warm."
She waid that events like the Thankful 5K, which double as fund-raisers, add to the running experience.
"It means so much when you can give back to the community," she said. "I think that's what fills your heart. And, certainly, on a day like today, with Thanksgiving, it allows you to just be grateful for everything that you have."
Dalton's Alexander White won the event going away with a time of 16 minutes, 12.56 seconds and 5:13 mile pace. He finished 40 seconds ahead of runner-up Towsend Roussin of West Roxbury.
The first woman across the finish line was Barbara Alexander, who crossed the line in 19:48.28 to place 13th overall.
The big winners were local food pantries.
The race raised, before expenses, about $32,000 -- twice its total from 2024, which was the previous high for a decade-old event that keeps growing in leaps and bounds.
Ten years ago, the race drew 140 runners in its first year. On Thursday morning, almost 750 people registered for the event.
Fittingly, the Berkshire Running Foundation chooses Thanksgiving as the time to raise money to support those experiencing food insecurity.
Thursday's race marked the end of a calendar filled with charity races run by the Berkshire Running Center, starting with May's Mother's Day event to support the Elizabeth Freeman Center and including the massive 4th of July 5K to benefit Berkshire Health Systems' community programs and the Soldier On 5K on Veterans Day.
"From when Kent [Lemme] and I started this with our races, we think we're closing in on $400,000 that we've put back into our community in 10 years," Shiobbean Lemme, co-owner of the Berkshire Running Center, said after Thursday's race. "This year alone, I would imagine we're going to put somewhere around $75,000 to $80,000."
This year's Thankful 5K was helped not only by presenting sponsor MountainOne but by a number of local businesses and by the fund-raising efforts of runners who solicited donations well beyond the registration fee.
Lemme said the huge turnout on Thursday is indicative of how much the running community responds to events that allow them to give back to the greater community.
"They want it," she said. "They want to do these. Kent and I have taken over almost every holiday on the calendar year between different events. This year, we did 14 events. Next year, we'll do 21.
"I get calls every week from people wanting to put a race on. They see what we're doing. They're like, 'What can we do to have that happen for our school or our church or whatever? The Berkshire Running Foundation is a non-profit that was started in 2023, and our mission is to improve our community through running events.
"And we do that."
Top 20
1. Alexander White, Dalton, 16 minutes, 12.56 seconds; 2. Townsend Roussin, West Roxbury, 16:52.15; 3. Dennis Love, 17:34.27; 4. Noah Wesley, Dalton, 17:34.42; 5. Max Adam, Pittsfield, 17:39.12; 6. Jack Archey, 17:46.83; 7. Stefan Ogle, 18:17.67; 8. Nicholas Curelop, Lenox, 18:24.02; 9. Mark Duane, 18:29.50; 10. Justin Hopkins, 18:56.12; 11. Teagan Far, Lenox Dale, 19:20.27; 12. Dylan Lundgren, Dalton, 19:27.54; 13. Barbara Alexander, East Nassau, N.Y., 19:48.28; 14. Amy Alkhafaji, Hoboken, N.J., 19:52.92; 15. John Wiechecki, Cranston, R.I., 19:57.28; 16. Morgan Windram-Geddes, Glendale, 20:06.37; 17. Matt Tirrell, Hastings on Hudson, N.Y., 20:07.62; 18. Stephen Foley, Pittsfield, 20:24.08; 19. Travis Sacher, Bedford Hills, N.Y., 20:26.41; 20. Berdy Cheramy, 20:42.17.
