The 20th annual Turkey Trot in the Kispiox Valley is taking place Thanksgiving weekend.
“It started with a bet between coworkers at the Kispiox Sportsmen Lodge,” run organizer Shirley Belisle said. “It used to be open back in the day and a lot of young people worked there. They all started saying they could run five km faster than you so the bet was on. There were about eight people that did the run.”
She said they had such a good time, they wanted to make it a tradition.
“After that we were all sitting around having coffee and we said we should make this an organized event and call it the Turkey Trot. The first organized trot was held at the lodge but so many people showed up that we had to move it to the rodeo grounds.”
The walk/run event features five km and 10 km distances. The family-friendly day also has a three km loop for the 10 and under crowd.
Belisle said there are usually around 100 participants. The race is always held on the Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend, which means this year it will be held on Oct. 12.
People can register on the day of the race at 9 a.m. at the Kispiox Valley Community Grounds. It costs $30 or $20 for those under 12. The fee includes a chili and salmon lunch, long sleeve T-shirt, draw prizes and awards for the top three finishers in each category. Lunch is available for non-participants for $5.
This year one of the grand draw prizes is a T-shirt quilt featuring 20 years of shirts. Raffle tickets for the quilt will also be available the day of the race.
The proceeds of the event go to help young, local athletes attend provincial sports competitions.
The Diamond Willow Boys will once again be entertaining the athletes, and this year, artists will be presenting some art to go along with the race.