Kevin Andrews, a previous record holder for the Spartan Turkey Trot, returned Nov. 23 on Thanksgiving morning to defend his winning streak, beating the former race course record time.
Andrews, who raced under the name “Kevbomb Flandrews,” earned first place with a time of 14:20.11, just ahead of MVHS alumni Evan Markelz who ran a time of 14:20.8. Andrew has won all three times that he has raced the course.
While the 5k distance is supposed to be roughly 3.1 miles, the course, as it was in previous years, was closer to 3 miles, with Andrews’ gps recording on Strava being 3.01 miles. Andrews’ time of 14:20 put him at a pace of roughly 4:46 per mile.
Andrews had held the course record, under the name “Kevbob Andrews” a few years prior, and said that it felt good to keep his name in the record books, and improve on his time.
He said that he prepared for the race by getting a good night of sleep and watching “The Hunger Games” to get in the right mindset.
Markelz said he prepared for the race by visualizing throughout the week, and that he was running the race to support the Mountain View Cross Country and Track Team.
“I just wanted to have a good time and enjoy and remember what I’m thankful for, and leave it all out there on the race,” Andrews said.
Andrews said that he felt good at the start of the race, with Markelz in the lead, and planned on staying with Markelz.
He sped up to get ahead of Markelz in the last 800 meters, and took the lead with 200 meters to go.
“I knew I just wanted to take it out, and I don’t have a very strong kick,” Markelz said. “So I figured I’d just push the pace and see if I could tire anybody behind me out, and [that] just didn’t pay off today.”
Andrews highly regarded the positive atmosphere at the Turkey Trot and enjoyed being supported and cheered on by his family.
“I think everyone’s just happy to be here, happy to be with people they love and people they care about, and then having exercise and getting fit while doing all that is always a joy,” Andrews said.
After the 5k, there was the kids 400-yard and 60-yard dash, and next was the Spartan mile, which was broken into two heats, which are different portions of an event often used to combat an overflow of runners. As of the time of writing, results for these events are not available.
“[I am] thankful for all my family and happy to be alive and happy to enjoy Thanksgiving one more year,” Andrews said.
