Running enthusiasts of all ages braved a positively frigid Saturday morning for the City of Redmond’s first Four-Mile Poultry Predictor Race at Farrel McWhirter Park.

The event was not your typical race — just because you crossed the finish line first, didn’t mean you were the winner. Participants were instead asked to guess their completion time before starting the course. The five entrants who came closest to their predicted times won a frozen turkey just in time for Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday.

Not all of the entrants were the typical marathon-circuit regulars — children, teens and seniors were a large share of the participants.

In fact, the winner with the closest time was 11-year-old and first-time runner Makenzie McLauchlan, who finished the race within 9 seconds of her estimated time at 42:49.

The surprise winner said coming in first was “amazing” and that she “just came out here and guessed!” She plans to take her winnings to Lincoln City, Ore., for the holiday.

“We’re gonna cook it at my grandma’s house,” she said with a smile.

Kelly Barrysmith and her two young sons completed the course together. It was the first race for the boys, one of whom finished the race in about 37.5 minutes.

“My kids brought me (here), they dragged me out of bed this morning,” Barrysmith said. “I’m so glad they did.”

Friends Lisa Sharp and Brooke Millar took on the course as running buddies.

“We run together on a regular basis, so it was just fun to get out on the trail and do a Saturday morning fun run,” Millar said.

“It’s the kickoff of the winter season, and it’s great,” added Sharp.

The first person to cross the finish line was Inglemoor High School student and cross-country runner Jonathon Larson.

“My mom signed me up for this actually,” Larson explained. “You [didn’t] know your time and you’re just trying to go off of past experiences. It was a pretty fun race.”

Sarah Sandquist, City of Redmond fitness coordinator and organizer for the event, was pleased with the turnout

.”We ended up with about 65 participants. It was a manageable amount for the first year, and we hope to grow each year,” Sandquist said.

The course was set up as a four-mile loop complete with two water stops and some uphill territory along the Puget Sound Energy Trail.

“It was a lot of fun — a really good, hilly … hard course!” said Regina Ciambrone.

The race began and ended at the Mackey Creek shelter, where sponsors including Anytime Fitness, ING Financial Partners and Evergreen Healthcare set up booths and gave away free goods such as grocery totes and massages. The organizers also raffled off three additional turkeys, two pies, T-shirts and hats.

Sandquist said that planning for the event began about six months ago.

“Work is steady in the months before a race, with focus on marketing, gaining sponsorship and recruiting volunteers,” she explained. “The week before the race is when it gets a little hectic — there was a lot of running around (and) securing supplies.”

The event also brought out volunteers who waited at the shelter during the race and prepared coffee and refreshments, and handed out water as people completed the course.

“We had about 15 staff and volunteers,” Sandquist said. “But I think you can never have too many.”

Sandquist also said to keep an eye out for an all-downhill race to take place this February on Super Bowl Sunday.

Candace Winegrad is a student in the University of Washington Department of Communication News Laboratory.