Mile posts: Items on Blake Whalen, Amanda Edwards, Alexina Teubel, Natalie Paulson, Morgan Shirley-Fairbairn, Stan Linton

College teams may be between the cross country and indoor track seasons, but several current collegians took the opportunity to run in a turkey trot on Thanksgiving. And in Iowa, the weather was ideal for this tradition celebrated nationally on the holiday Thursday.

Runablaze Iowa athlete Blake Whalen, 27, of Des Moines edged Cameron Miller, 28, by five seconds to win the 50th Turkey Trot 5-mile race at Wahlert High School in Dubuque. Whalen, the 2022 IMT Des Moines Half Marathon champion and a former Dubuque Senior and Iowa Central Community College athlete, ran 24:50.

Runablaze teammate Amanda Edwards, 35, outdueled teammate Elaina Biechler to win the women's title in 30:23. Edwards is a former Dubuque Hempstead and Wartburg athlete. Biechler, 36, was nine seconds back in second. She is a former Coe College and Mount Pleasant athlete living in Dubuque.

Former Dubuque Senior and Central College runner Kyle Pape, 25, was the men's winner in the 2.5-mile race in 12:45, a 5:06 pace per mile. He topped former Luther College runner Michael Eyres, 26, of Dubuque by three seconds. Eyres is the current East Dubuque cross country and track coach.

Northern Iowa head cross country coach and former Mount Vernon/Lisbon athlete Alexina Teubel was the women's champion of the Cedar Rapids Turkey Trot 5K on Thursday. Teubel, a former Panther great and current Runablaze athlete, ran 17:00.53. Iowa senior and former Linn-Mar prep Madeline Block, 23, of Marion was the women's runner-up in 17:17.58. Runablaze's Jordan Winke, 24, of Iowa City was third in 17:49.84. Winke is a former Hawkeye as well as Albia Community runner.

Former Springville High runner Caleb Christiansen, 21, was the men's 5K winner. Christiansen, a current UW-Platteville senior, ran 15:41.06 to win by 14 seconds over current Wartburg junior Ryan Neubauer, 21. Neubauer, from Swisher and a former Cedar Rapids Prairie prep, ran 15:55.17.

At the Des Moines Turkey Trot in downtown Des Moines, current Northern Iowa and former Urbandale High school athlete Payton Marrs finished runner-up in the 5-kilometer race in 15 minutes, 40 seconds. Panther teammate and former Southeast Polk runner Drake Hanson was third in 15:52. Both are sophomores. In fourth was University of Iowa freshman and former Des Moines Christian runner Carson Houg in 16:03. Former Pella High prep and current Dordt College freshman Josiah Wittenberg finished sixth in 16:15. The winner was Illinois State runner Jordan Wood won in 15:36.

In the women's 5K, former Dallas Center-Grimes runner and current Wartburg College senior Natalie Paulson was the champion in 18:09 on the course that included the hill up and around the Iowa Capitol. Grinnell native Georgia Wright-Simmons was runner-up in 18:09. Former Valley athlete and current Illinois State sophomore Lauren Schulze took third in 18:18.

Former Central Missouri runner Nick Victor was the overall 5-mile winner in 25:57. Axel Montanez was runner-up in 25:59, with former Marion prep and Central College runner Jeremy Fopma third in 26:35. Fopma broke his own National Christian College Athletic Association record on Nov. 11 when he won his fourth consecutive individual NCCAA cross country title for Maranatha Baptist in Watertown, Wis. Fopma ran a 26:08 for 8K in Joplin, Mo., to claim the Division II crown and lead the Sabercats to a third-place team finish.

Hamline assistant coach and Earlham native Andrea Haus was the women's 5-mile winner in 31:51. Haus was the winner by more than two minutes.

At the YMCA - McCarthy Bush Turkey Trot in Davenport on Thursday, current Wartburg senior Morgan Shirley-Fairbairn was the overall winner of the 5K in 15:27. He won by 57 seconds less than a week after finishing 41st to lead the Knights to a runner-up team finish at the NCAA Division III cross country nationals.

In the five-mile, former Iowa runner and current Running Wild Elite athlete Benjamin Lloyd finished third overall in 26:32. RWE teammate and former Clinton High and Clinton Community College athlete Dalton Rice was another six seconds back in fourth place in 26:38. The winner was Zach Hird in 25:24.

At the Legends of the Fall 4-mile trail run in Iowa City, current Iowa City High senior Truman Thompson was the overall winner in 21:06. Former City High and Luther College runner Quenton Max, 22, of Iowa City placed second in 21:29. The women's champion was former Iowa City West prep and Iowa athlete Gabby Skopec, 23, of Coralville in 25:26.

Former Morningside College runner Garret Ehlers, from Ida Grove, was the overall winner of the Christmas in Hometown Le Mars Santa's Fun Run on Saturday. Ehlers, 31, of Sioux City ran the 5K in 15:30 to win by 1:45.

Former Cedar Falls High athlete and current Wartburg College sophomore Michael Goodenbour was the overall winner of the Cedar Falls Turkey Trot 5K on Friday. Goodenbour was timed in 15:59 to win by 14 seconds.

Moving outside Iowa, former Runablaze athlete and Iowa resident Stan Linton of Memphis, Tenn., captured the victory at the Turkey Trot in Southwood, Fla., near Tallahassee. The former Florida State athlete covered the 15K distance in 47:33 in the race with 5,200 entrants. The new newlywed had hoped to take down the course record of 46:26 set by former Seminoles athlete Paul Waldron in 1987.

"I won't stop until I get the record," Linton told the Tallahassee Democrat.

MISSING A TOP DISTANCE RUNNER OR TRIATHLETE?: Let me know at bergeson@registermedia.com.

Want to hear more about distance running in Iowa. Listen to my podcast here: https://anchor.fm/lance-bergeson8

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Mile posts: Items on Blake Whalen, Amanda Edwards, Natalie Paulson, Alexina Teubel, Morgan Shirley-Fairbairn, Stan Linton