Turkey Trot returns

TIFFIN — Organizers invite the community to participate in the annual Turkey Trot fun run on Thanksgiving morning. According to a press release, participants will gather at the Hedges Boyer shelter across from the YMCA at 8 a.m. Nov. 28. The event is a healthy start to Thanksgiving morning and a way to support the community, the release states. No registration is required and there is no cost to participate, the release states, but donations are suggested. "The Salvation Army will be present to accept donations of money and canned goods," according to the release, which will be divided between the Salvation Army and the Tiffin YMCA Backpack Food Program. Vanessa Ardner, who organizes the annual event with Sara Riesen, said the event began in 2008 when a group of runners invited friends to join them for a Thanksgiving morning run. Forty people participated the first year, Ardner said, and the number grew in 2009. "Literally it doubled," she said, with 80 people running in 2009 and 120 in 2010. Ardner said the biggest year for the Trot was 2016, when 612 runners and walkers participated. Overall, almost 4,500 people have participated in the Turkey Trot over the years, the release states, and over $25,000 has been raised. The Turkey Trot follows a 3-4 mile route through Hedges-Boyer and behind the Heidelberg University track, Ardner said, and participants are welcome to run, walk, jog, push baby strollers and bring their dogs. "The Turkey Trot wants to be bigger and better than ever this year," the release states. After finishing the course, participants will be offered coffee or water, Ardner said, and are free to head home to begin Thanksgiving preparations.