Every Thanksgiving, Americans stuff themselves full of more food than the pilgrims could have dreamed of eating. Some people, however, spend their holiday doing just the opposite of eating. Detroit’s Turkey Trot is a Thanksgiving tradition that actually helps Michiganders lose a few pounds, or at least burn off the calories from their turkey dinner.
The Turkey Trot is a race through downtown Detroit on Thanksgiving morning that includes runners and walkers of all ages and abilities. This year marked the 30th anniversary of the race.
A record number of 22,100 people attended the Turkey Trot this Thanksgiving. This number included many Mercy girls, including freshmen Leah Quinn.
“I have run the Turkey Trot before; I think I was eight or nine when I last ran it,” said Quinn. “I did it because I wanted to prove to my mom that I could run a 5K faster than her.”
There are many divisions to the race, including the Mashed Potato Mile for walkers, and several reindeer-themed waves for runners of various speeds.
“I was supposed to be in the Dasher wave, but I accidentally got into the Comet wave instead, which is the fastest wave,” said Quinn.
The runners were cheered on by supporters lining the sidelines. Water stations, as well as cookie stations and candy cane stations were available to refresh the runners. Detroit’s Thanksgiving parade followed the race.