Reid Park once again provided a perfect venue for the Thanksgiving Cross Country Classic. Perfect fall temperatures and a challenging 5k European-style course complete with hay bales and water jumps created the perfect opportunity to build a big Thanksgiving Day appetite.

A fun and competitive field toed the line for the women's 5k. The race offered some lead changes, but found Tucsonan Traci Riccitello at the finish line first 10 seconds ahead of the competition. Traci clocked in at 20:10 with Emily McGregor and Theresa Farah battling for second and third, finishing 20:20 and 20:22 respectively. Lisa Warneke was the first Masters runner across the line, finishing in 21:16.

The men's event sported a huge field of runners and boasted top runners such as Greg Wenneborg, Jimmy Riccetello, Benito Gonzales, Robert Seaman, and many others. Mike Howard dominated the field and secured a first place finish in 15:44. Mike's time lands him at the top of the course record list, breaking Ian Alsen's 15:46 performance in 1996. Robert Seaman (15:52) edged Dan Maher for second place (15:55). Benito Gonzales finished first in the Master's division with a time of 17:01.

Check out the official results to see how you did!

Special thanks to the key sponsors of this great event: The Running Shop, Apollo Super Stores, Brueggers Bagels, Albertsons, and OK Feed. Please recognize these, and all of SAR's running sponsors, by giving them your business!