The William Penton Memorial Turkey Trot at Lorain County Community College has seen its share of changes in four decades.

Conceived by Jack Wilhelm, Dick Cooley, Jim Kehler, Stan Wasco and Bob McQuattie, the LCCC Turkey Trot began in 1969. In the early years, the Turkey Day race was called the Lake Erie AAU 10,000-meter Cross Country Championships.

The inaugural event was actually four races: a mile physical fitness run, a 2-mile women’s race, 3-mile high school race and a collegiate 6-miler.

The first winners were Grace Butcher in the women’s 2-miler (13:15) and Rich Brown of Sandusky in the 3-mile (16:21). Dave Reid of Miami of Ohio triumphed over Cincinnati’s Dan McCrone in the 6-miler.

The day’s events didn’t begin until 10 am.

“There was so much dissatisfaction from the wives and the mothers that year because of the late start and four separate races,” said Scott Snyder, Amherst’s boys cross country coach who won the event in 1994 and ’96.

In 1970, Wilhelm scaled back to just one race (the 10K) and started it at 9 a.m. so everyone could be out of there by 11. The format has stayed the same ever since, except for one year when the race was a 5-miler because of problems on the course.

The event was renamed in 1993 in honor of former Lorain County Road Runner Club member William Penton, who regularly competed in the race. He died of a heart attack in 1991 at age 61.

Snyder, 54, has run 37 of the 40 Turkey Trots — more than anyone else — including the last 29. He missed only 1972, ’78 and ’79. Elyria’s Jim Mackert, 73, has run in 33 straight and Avon’s Dave Wendell, 58, has done 30 in a row.

The inaugural Trot was also a launching point for several stellar running careers.

“Tony Otto, Sonny (Wilburn) and I were good friends in ninth grade,” said Snyder, last year’s 50-54 age group winner in a time of 40:45. “I was the only one who ran cross country that year (1969). Tony played freshman football and Sonny didn’t do anything.

“Tony and I decided to train for the Turkey Trot after his football season was over and our cross country was done. We were doing 4 to 5 miles a day to get ready. Sonny knew we were going to run it, so he decided to run it to, although he didn’t run a step to get ready.”

When race day arrived, however, Snyder and Otto were in for a surprise.

“I had spikes and was all pumped up for the race,” Snyder said. “Tony had spikes and was pumped. Sonny showed up in Converse basketball shoes. Tony and I ran together for the first mile in the race then I left him, I never considered Sonny. Coming off the hill to the finish (about 400 meters to go in those days) I was comfortable chugging along in ninth place.”

Then came the shocker: “Sonny comes from nowhere and blows by me,” Snyder said. “Sonny was ninth in 18:35, I finished 10th in 18:40 and Tony Otto had 19:40 in his first race.”

In Wilburn’s first big high school race his sophomore year, he won the 1970 Tiffin Distance Carnival in 9:49 (2 miles). He then won the 1971 Class AAA state cross country title at Ohio State’s Scarlet Golf Course.

Otto went on to run 1:55.6 in the 880-yard run to take sixth at state in 1973 and went 4:25 in the mile.

Snyder starred in track and cross country for B-W, graduating in 1977. He has raced at LCCC approximately 70 times in his career, which includes 20 high school races and 15 Santarelli 5Ks. Otto, now an attorney in Port Orchard, Wash., ran in college for Ohio State and now plays recreational soccer.

Like Snyder, Wilburn and his wife, Dusti, still live in Amherst. A supervisor for Beckett Corp. in North Ridgeville, Wilburn has raced off and on over the years. He plans to compete in this year’s Turkey Trot.

Turkey trot

• What: 41st annual Penton Memorial 10K Turkey Trot
• Where: Lorain County Community College
• When: Thursday, 9 a.m.
• The skinny: Race-day registration begins at 7:30 a.m. in the PE building. Fee is $20 with a long-sleeve T-shirt, $10 without a shirt. There are multiple age categories and awards, inclduing specialty awards for the oldest runner, youngest runner, runner who traveled the farthest to get to the race and the last finisher. There is also a postrace raffle. Registration is available at www.lorainccc.edu or by calling Jim Powers at (440) 366-7652.
• 2009 winners: Nate Norris, 33, of Avon Lake (37:06); Jessica Odorcic Kuhr, 27, of Kirtland (40:53).

Contact Paul Heyse at 329-7135 or phheyse@aol.com.

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