From year to year, the
holiday season is ripe with traditions that may vary from one family to the
next. Your knitted sweater may fit a little more snug than it once did, and
your wine-savvy aunt has switched from boxed to bottled, but the adoption of
new traditions doesn’t stop there for residents of Colorado’s Western Slope.
This year marks the seventh
annual hosting of the Turkey Trot 5k in Grand Junction, Colo. Before donning
the elastic waistbands for festive meals, over 1,200 runners and walkers took
to the streets of downtown Grand Junction on the morning of Thanksgiving.
“It’s kind of a funny thing,
because a lot of people now have replaced big events, like the Macy’s
Thanksgiving Day Parade, with running at our race,” said Mandy Harter, the head
event coordinator for the Turkey Trot. “This race started with good intention
amongst a small group of people, and I’m happy to see it grow from year to
year.”
Even in it’s infancy, this
festive 5k began with purpose. The event benefits the Grand Junction
Firefighters Foundation.
“This is a great way for our
guys at the station to get out into the city in a very different way,” said
Stacey Foster. As a wife of one of the firefighters in station 2808, Foster
says that her husband gains inspiration for his work from being able to
interact with the people he protects.
On some of the busiest
streets of Grand Junction on any normal day, the Turkey Trot transforms the
downtown area into a spirited five kilometers of cardio.
“Next week I’ll run the
Winter Sun Run in Moab, Utah so this is my daily workout and a tempo run,” said
Sam Van Pelt. “Every year I run this race with my brothers with a competitive
attitude, and I always forget how many smiling faces and happy families come
out despite the cold.”
Some come in costume, some
with personal records in mind, but everyone comes and contributes to the
solidification of a new tradition.
Find the Grand Junction Turkey Trot on Facebook
Find the Grand Junction Turkey Trot on Facebook
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