Just how far or fast would you have to run to burn off the effects of a Thanksgiving feast? Two area events that have become a part of the Pittsburgh holiday scene will give runners the chance to launch a pre-emptive calorie strike.

"We do it mostly to have a good time," race director Dena Holland said of the 28th annual Gutbuster Run. "It's a cheap race."

Members of the Greater Pittsburgh Road Runners Club pay a $1 entry fee for any of the Thanksgiving-morning races, which come in lengths of 8, 4 and 2 miles. Everyone else pays $2.

There are no T-shirts given out, but you can buy one for about $7. Holland wasn't kidding when she said it's a laid-back race.

For a paltry fee, runners become part of Pittsburgh's second-oldest annual road race. Debuting six weeks after the Great Race in 1977, the Gutbuster has been nurtured as a come-as-you-are sort of affair among some of the area's best runners.

The race was started by Tom Allison, founder of the old Human Energy Running Club. He wanted it to resemble the rough-and-tumble European cross country courses, minus the tumble.

Over the years, the Frick Park course was modified -- one year, small logs were placed on the paths to increase the difficulty of an already hilly challenge -- and the present-day run is friendly enough to allow for all skill levels.

"Most people do the 4-mile," said Holland, who remembers the first few years when only a handful of runners participated. They're expecting about 125 this year. "Some go ahead and sign up for the 8 but because it's so hilly -- it really is a gutbuster -- they end up doing the 4-mile, and that's OK, too, because the course is a loop."

It wouldn't be Thanksgiving for the Holland family of Squirrel Hill without the Gutbuster. Her son, Dan, has won the race numerous times, and it was a favorite of Dena's husband, Harry.

"[Harry] would run the Gutbuster and then pig out on Thanksgiving," she said, laughing.

The race is officially the Harry C. Holland Gutbuster Run to honor Harry, who died of cancer 11 years ago. Dena, who runs the Dancespace 304 dance school in Squirrel Hill, is on her feet all day teaching ballet, yoga and hip hop. Running, she said, is her relaxation.

"It's like that time for myself. I like to run just to get away from myself."

She'll run the 2-mile event this year, in between registering runners -- there is no pre-registration; just show up at the Lower Field in Frick Park -- help with the timing, then hand out apples and cookies afterward.

This leaves little time to prepare a holiday meal, but Holland has that covered: "I'm going over to my daughter-in-law's house."

Race time is 10 a.m. For more information, go to www.geocities.com/gprrc. Or just show up a little early with $2.

On the other side of town, the 15th annual Downtown YMCA Turkey Trot is expecting a crowd upward of 1,500 runners, most of whom will compete in the 9 a.m. 5-mile run. An 8:15 a.m. 2-mile race is offered as well.

"We're promoting it as a family event," director Karen Mosesso said.

"We probably have 10 different states represented and for a lot of runners in the community, this is the last big race before winter."

This is Mosesso's first year with the event after 13 years working with the Great Race.

The course is an out-and-back beginning at the YMCA on the Boulevard of the Allies. Runners head for the Clemente Bridge and eventually loop past PNC Park and Heinz Field before heading back to the Y. It's a fast, fairly flat run.

Entrants in either event are eligible for $12,000 worth of raffle prizes, including two professional-grade Precor treadmills.

"People were talking about renting a U-Haul if they won," Mosesso said. "If you want it bad enough, you'll get it [home somehow]."

Registration is through www.active.com or call 412-227-6460.

Ironman TV

Seven Pittsburgh-area athletes finished the Ironman Triathlon world championships recently. A 90-minute recap of the event from Hawaii will be on NBC tomorrow after the Notre Dame game.