AUBURN - Wearing brown-paper tail feathers, wings and a beak, John Widtfeldt, Auburn, in a homemade turkey costume, jogged up and down the winding roads of Lake Wynonah Sunday morning.
The eye-catching garb made him stand out among the 170 runners who participated in the third annual Turkey Trot 5K Run/Walk, but Widfeldt, 55, said it also gave him an advantage on the course.
"I probably made it tougher for the people behind me. It could be a distraction," Widtfeldt said.
Run by the Lake Wynonah Athletic Group, a nonprofit organization that holds healthful athletic activities for families in the community, the trot was a fundraiser this year for Keystone Wounded Warriors, Blandon, Berks County, according to David Tyson, a group volunteer.
Every year, a different charity is chosen by the group.
"There are a lot of veterans in the community and we wanted to do something to support them, so we decided to go with Keystone Wounded Warriors," Tyson said.
"We raised over $3,000 for Keystone Wounded Warriors today due to the charity of 25 sponsors and race proceeds," he added.
Paul Spurgin, Blandon, director of Keystone Wounded Warriors, attended the race. "We're honored and 100 percent of our profits go back to the wounded and we're all volunteers. No one in our organization gets paid," Spurgin said.
Wounded soldiers can apply for funding from Keystone Wounded Warriors by contacting their local veterans support officers or visiting keystonewarriors.com online.
One of the participants, Zachary Reichert, 27, of Pottsville, praised the Lake Wynonah Athletic Group for supporting the veterans group. Reichert is a staff sergeant with the Army Reserve. He just returned from a tour in Afghanistan.
"A couple of my buddies were wounded over there. So it's a good cause," Reichert said.
Reichert said his race time was 21:47. "Those hills are tough," he said.
While the skies were clear and blue, temperatures were in the low 30s as the runners lined up at 10 a.m.
The first runner to cross the finish line was Nick Sturm, 17, of Hamburg. His time: 17:59.
Sturm said this was the first time he'd run this course. His first impression: "It's a lot of hills. But I was up for anything. But the cold hurt a little bit on my hands."
The second to cross the finish line was Damon Brossman, 39, of Pottsville. His time was 18:05. And the third to cross was Glen Heck, 17, of Leesport. His time was 18:31.
"This is the hardest 5K I've run. And it's because of the hills. You had to sprint downhill to keep your time decent," Brossman said.
The start and finish line was set up outside The Lodge. Vendors there included Schaeffer's Harley-Davidson, Orwigsburg, and Vemma-brand energy drinks.
When Widtfeldt was nearing the finish line, spectators on the sidelines cheered him on. A few shouted "Gobble-gobble!"
Widfeldt was there with friends, including Stephen Debuski, 58, of Auburn.
"I did this the first year they held it. And when I did it two years ago I ran with this costume," Widfeldt said as he applied duct tape to hold the costume together at 9:15 a.m. Sunday.
Debuski said he was "participating" in the event. "To call what I do running would be a misnomer ..." he said.
"He's the fastest geezer around," Widtfeldt joked.
Debuski's time was 27:24; Widtfeldt's was 30:04.
"A 5K like this for someone my age, 30 minutes is satisfactory," Widtfeldt said.
Pretzel City Sports timed the race and the winners were given medals, Tyson said.