West Hempstead Man Trots to Fifth Consecutive Victory

Winning the Garden City Turkey Trot has become an annual tradition for one West Hempstead man.

Ryan McDermott, 22, took home first place in the annual five-mile race on Thanksgiving for the fifth consecutive year.

This time he finished just over 25 minutes with a 5:01 pace, around the same speed he ran at when he won the race in 2009 and 2008. He was able to shave seconds off his 2010 time and ran a whole minute faster than when he took home his first victory in the race in 2007 at age 18.

Earlier this month, McDermott, an alum of Chaminade, completed his first New York City Marathon, finishing among the top 250 men in the United States with a time of 2:45:47. He raised funds for the Christopher Reeve foundation and dedicated the race to his brother, a former track athlete who suffered a spinal chord injury while diving into a pool.

McDermott's next goal is to