As the dawn broke on a blustery but beautiful Thanksgiving morning, at one point contrasting a bright full moon against the stunning sunrise, more than 1,550 runners and walkers began to gather at Riverside Park for the eighth annual Thanksgiving Day Trot Against Poverty. The 5K run/walk fundraiser, affectionately known as the Turkey Trot, benefits the Harvest Food and Outreach Center.
Corporate teams and entire families, from infants in strollers to grandparents and seniors, came to get an early start to one of the nation’s favorite holidays while sharing their good fortune with those in need. There’s an air of festivity to the event, as turkey-themed headbands and hats bob in the breeze alongside Pilgrim hats and Indian feathers, boas and tutus, and well-behaved pups, tails wagging from all the attention, happily trot alongside their humans.
With expressions of fierce concentration, eager youngsters started things off with a sprint to the bridge at Memorial Island and back, happily clutching the participation medals they were awarded at the finish line.
Runner’s Depot seamlessly coordinated the registrants and race details, setting everything up well before the crack of dawn. A massive number of volunteers also arrived bright and early, directing the parking and helping out at registration, and later handing out water and monitoring participants along the race route, serving up breakfast and helping to clean up.
The Catering by Adrienne Drew volunteers – Adrienne Drew, husband Dwight Perry, mother Mimi Drew, Lasonja Ealy and sister Ashley Drew, who flew in from Buffalo to help out – were also among the early birds, arriving at 4:45 a.m. to start flipping thousands of mouthwatering sweet potato pancakes from gallons of batter whipped up by Marsh Landing. Drew also brought along 2,800 sausage links cooked earlier that day.
The event began in 2006 at the First Church of God with just a few hundred participants. Jamie Jackson, Harvest’s director of Institutional Advancement, said the idea to host in Vero Beach what is now a Thanksgiving tradition around the country came from Ginny Hunt, Harvest co-founder with husband Austin.
“Ginny is a runner and said it’s such a popular race day, we should have one,” said Jackson. “And now it’s the biggest in the area by far. It’s a good way to start the day.”
