By Hannah Chetkowski

Sunday, Nov. 21 marked the 30th annual Slattery’s Turkey Trot, a 5-mile race through the streets of Fitchburg. The race is sponsored annually by Slattery’s Restaurant & Bar on 21 Culley St. in Fitchburg.
The race begins and finishes at the restaurant, with the full race route covering North Street, Rindge Road, John Fitch Highway and the Pearl Street hill. Both runners and fitness walkers were encouraged to participate, with separate divisions for each.
Cash prizes ranging from $200 to $1,000 are awarded each year to the top three men, women and masters winners. This year, local Heidi Westerling took home the first-place prize in the women’s category and elite Kenyan runner Abiyot Endale won the men’s title.
Runners participated in the race for a fee of $22 and t-shirts were given to the first 1,000 entrants. All proceeds from the race benefit the Slattery’s Turkey Trot Scholarship Fund.
Over $143,000 in scholarships have been awarded through this fund throughout the 30-year run of the Slattery’s Turkey Trot.