The cold, dry air stung the faces of many as they waited for the annual Turkey Trot to begin. Lining up along the track at 9:30, the 1,500 people waited for the countdown to begin. Children cried as the cold air nibbled at their ears, but suddenly, they were off. The most competitive broke off in a run, trying to be first while others started slow, enjoying the morning walk.
Usually hosted by the Fire Department, the Turkey Trot is an annual Thanksgiving 5k run this year by Central High School at Stocker Stadium. Hank DeFord, a Palisade Junior ran that morning and commented on how well he did, “I matched my personal record of 16:35 and got eleventh place and 1st in my age group”. He focuses less on how well he did, but rather on the spirit of the race, “the Turkey Trot is just a super fun race where the entire community comes together to run on all of the levels of running there are. It was so fun to run with my friends, coaches, and family. I ran the Turkey Trot because it’s a super fun and low-stress race with the community and with my friends”. The Turkey Trot starts at 9:00 with the Little Gobblers race for children 8 and under, and at 9:30 the 5k begins. After 15 minutes, people were close to finishing. Coming in first with a time of 15:19, Whit Blair takes first place, followed closely by second, with third and ninth coming in within a minute. Congratulations Hank on your great 5k!
