About 600 people enjoyed pie during their first course early Thanksgiving Day at the North Jefferson City Recreation Area.
But, it wasn't the usual holiday course. It was, instead, a runners' course.
The annual Thanksgiving Day Pie Run is a tradition for a number of families in the area, according to Katie Hauser, of Columbia.
Her entire family runs the event every year.
Hauser, who won the women's division, said the Hauser family has been participating in the race since it started, in about 1999.
"It's a nice, flat course," she explained. "Once you find one, you come back every year."
For her victory, Hauser received a pumpkin pie.
The first three finishers (men and women) of each race - 5K and 10K runs and a 5K walk - receive pies, said John Weghorst, president of the Jeff City Road Runners group that organizes the event.
Attendance for the race was down a little this year, he said, but enthusiasm remained high.
Cars lined Sandstone and Cedar City drives, 4th Street and other area roads as families packed into the park early Thursday morning. Many carried grocery bags as they walked from their vehicles to the North Jefferson City Multipurpose Building, where the race kicked off.
Organizers encouraged each participant to bring a canned food item to be donated to the Samaritan Center. Additionally, any revenue generated by entrance fees went to the center.
Through its efforts, the race has donated more than 2 tons of food and $27,000 to the Samaritan Center since the race began.
Despite its success raising donations for charity, the race's main goal is to give people a reason to exercise, Weghorst said.
Several contestants wore items commemorating the holiday.
Doug Bartley donned a black Pilgrim-style top hat with a brown band and a buckle around it. The hat also sported a paper turkey, which his granddaughter gave to him.
The turkey featured a logo from the National Wild Turkey Foundation program - Juniors Acquiring Knowledge, Ethics and Sportsmanship (JAKES).
JAKES is dedicated to informing, educating and involving youth in wildlife conservation and the wise stewardship of natural resources, according to foundation website.
"We're walkers, not runners," Bartley said. "We've been doing it for 10 years."
Over time, that's meant his family has contributed a great deal of money to the cause, he said.
It's also given him time to take a walk with family and friends.
He said he would require about an hour to complete the entire course.