Nearly 300 people turn out for 12th annual race that’s a tradition for some, a new way for others to burn calories before the feast ahead

By Mark Sabbatini

Juneau Independent

Misty Chilton says the Turkey Trot 5K and 1 Mile Fun Run has been part of her Thanksgiving for the past dozen years of the race’s existence, so moving to Washington state last year wasn’t cause to change that tradition. Especially on a cloudless, windless sunny morning with a temperature of about 25 degrees.

"We've done it in blizzards," she said while walking the one-mile portion of the course with longtime friends, all wearing matching turkey hats with long tassels down both sides. "We've done it in rain. We've done it with snow on the ground. We've done it with gale warnings, with snow or rain. We decided this is the nicest year. This feels like the nicest year. It's kind of warm out, comparatively speaking."

Chilton said that in addition to being thankful for being healthy and carrying on Thanksgiving traditions with family and friends, she and her husband, Doug, will also be taking part in another of their annual routines during the holiday weekend as vendors at the Juneau Public Market.

Nearly 300 people registered for this year’s Turkey Trot, roughly comparable to past years, according to organizers. The one-mile participants started from near the beginning of the Airport Dike Trail at 9:30 a.m. and the 5K participants shortly after 10 a.m., allowing everyone to burn off some calories early enough to get home and cook or take part in other plans for Thanksgiving.

"I gotta cook Thanksgiving dinner, but it's going to be the easy one," said Adam Hendrickson, taking part in the one-mile event with his wife, Megan, and son, Conrad, 8. "It's going to be like my version of Thanksgiving. It's the instant mashed potatoes and a very small turkey. And then we're going to change over to our snow tires."

As for what he’s thankful for this year, "I'm thankful that I finally have help putting the snow tires on the car."

Different people took different approaches to cope with the cold. Current and former local high school cross-country runners just wore their normal shorts and other racing gear. Bonnie Webster and her daughter, Ruby, 11, took a far more furry approach by showing up dressed as flying squirrels — the same costumes they wore for Halloween.

"My favorite animal is dogs and squirrels," Ruby Webster explained, noting that a canine costume she wore in past years was no longer fit for frigid weather due to damage.

Plenty of participants said they were coaxed out into the sub-freezing morning for their first Turkey Trot by family and friends. Audrey Herbert, visiting from Indianapolis with her three kids, said she showed up with two other local families she knows because of her daughter, Alma, 6.

"We usually do the Drumstick Dash," Audrey Herbert said, referring to an annual Thanksgiving fun run in her hometown with about 15,000 participants. "She was disappointed that we didn't get to do it so she called us all out here this morning."

• Contact Mark Sabbatini at editor@juneauindependent.com or (907) 957-2306.

More photos from this year’s Turkey Trot 5K and 1 Mile Fun Run

Photos by Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Independent

Photos by Laurie Craig / Juneau Independent