HUNDREDS HIT TURKEY TROT AHEAD OF BIG MEAL
Whether it was part of a yearly tradition or to rev up an appetite ahead of Thanksgiving dinner, locals and visitors alike laced up their running shoes and braved the cold morning air for the return of the Old Town Turkey Trot 5K.
The event saw hundreds line up at the corner of Second and F streets, by the Old Town gazebo, in the first Thanksgiving morning fun run since 2019, as last year’s event was put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Eureka native Robert Anderson came from Los Angeles to visit family for Thanksgiving. He lined up along with his siblings for the Thursday morning event, as they have done in previous years.
“We’ve been coming here for the past four years, well, except for last year. I’m pretty excited to be back, after having a hiatus,” Anderson said.
For this participant, the Old Town Turkey Trot has a special significance.
“It got me into running 5Ks,” he said.
Chris Jones of Sonoma was visiting family, but ran solo during the Thanksgiving morning fun run. The activity was the perfect way to drum up an appetite, he said.
“It’s a tradition to get in some exercise before dinner,” he said.
This year’s event was organized by the cross country programs at College of the Redwoods and Arcata High School, with the two squads splitting proceeds from the event.
In its past iterations, the event was organized by Arcata’s Jogg’n Shoppe. However, the store’s owners stepped down from organizing duties due to the time commitment the yearly run demands.
Arcata High cross country coach James Washington was happy to see the day’s turnout.
“I’m impressed with the amount of people here. … I take my hat off to the runners. It has been so good that the people have stepped up and helped both schools and their running programs,” he said.
While the coach doesn’t expect any world records to be broken at the fun run, he does believe it’s a good way to start the day.
“That way you can go home and eat and have a nice Thanksgiving day dinner,” he said with a laugh.