FEASTER FIVE CANCELS KIDS RUN, 5-MILE RACE DUE TO BITTER COLD; 5K RACE REMAINS

THE EAGLE TRIBUNE | GLOUCESTER DAILY TIMES

With extreme cold predicted for Thursday, the Feaster Five Thanksgiving road race will now include only the 5K run.

"This is always a challenging decision to make, but you obviously want to decide on the side of safety," race manager Dave McGillivray said Tuesday afternoon when the change was announced.

An email will be sent out to registered race participants, informing them that the 5-mile race planned for Thursday will be eliminated, McGillivray said. Everyone who registered for the 5-mile race will automatically be registered in the 5K, he said.

Eliminating one of the races means fewer volunteers, police and other public safety workers will be out in the bitter cold, and they will be outdoors for shorter periods of time, Feaster Five organizers said.

The organizers are also making changes to keep children safe and out of the cold.

"Given the extreme weather conditions, we also don't think it's appropriate to run the Kids Fun Run," McGillivray said. "The track that we conduct the event on has snow on it, and we are sure it could turn to ice and be very unsafe come Thursday morning."

Medals will still be distributed to children who planned to participate in the Fun Run. Feaster Five participants will still be able to pick up their event hoodies at the expo Tuesday and Wednesday at the Andover/North Andover YMCA.

The 5K race will still begin at 8:30 a.m. Thursday and continue along the same route that was originally planned — starting at the corner of routes 28 and 133 in Andover and ending at Brickstone Square in Andover.