Fowkes Wins Again as Close to 1,000 Compete in 47th Annual Montauk Turkey Trot

It never gets old for Ryan Fowkes.

The Amagansett native, for the fourth year in a row, won the 6-mile race of the Montauk Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving and the 22-year-old said there’s just something about coming back home and taking part in a local race that he really enjoys.

“I remember coming back for my second lap of the 6-mile loop and a lot of people were walking and so many of them recognized me and encouraged me to keep going, so it’s always nice to run a race like that,” he said. “It’s always special to come home and see all the familiar faces.”

Fowkes won his race in 30:29.58, a blistering mile pace of 5:05. Jonah Lytle, 25, of Sag Harbor placed second of the 133 finishers in the 6-mile race in 33:52.43, with Erin Gregoire, 26, of New York City being the first female to cross the finish line, third overall, in 35:22.91. Tim Rossi, 31, also of New York City, finished fourth in 35:23.63, and hometown runner John Piroch, 24, rounded out the top five in 35:46.95.

“It was a pretty standard day for a local road race,” Fowkes said. “I’d say the weather wasn’t great, but I knew there wasn’t going to be a ton of competition, so I went out pretty quick and settled in the middle part of the race. Ended up winning by a pretty good margin and it was a comfortable run for me, so it was nice.”

The 3-mile was the more popular of three race options with 885 runners finishing the shorter distance. Nicolas Rodgers, 18, of Washington, D.C., won the race in 15:21.85, followed by Will Tainter-Gilbert, 21, of Sandy Hook, Connecticut, who finished in 15:42.14. Lauren Dara, 43, of New York City was the first female to cross the finish line in 19:36.15.

The Montauk Turkey Trot was founded by John Keeshan in 1976, when he and a group of friends ran 11 miles, from the Village Green to the Montauk Point Lighthouse, and back again. The 11-mile edition of the race is still offered in a virtual-only form, and according to elitefeats.com, Harry Helbock, 27, of Brighton, Massachusetts, was the only runner to complete that race. He finished in 1:24:19.

Although the registration fee increased this year to $20, due to what event organizers said are rising costs, it didn’t stop the nearly 1,000 people coming out to Montauk on the holiday.