Fifth annual Trot-4-Food walk/run set for Thanksgiving day

By TOM LAVENTURE

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HURLEY, Wis. - What started as a pre-Thanksgiving meal fun run among friends has grown into an annual community charitable event.

The fifth Trot-4-Food is set for Thanksgiving, with same-day registration starting a half-hour before the 8 a.m. start on Thursday, Nov. 28, at the Iron County Health Department, 502 Copper Street, Hurley. Participants can choose between the 1.5-mile or 4-mile walk, run, trot and have the health department to warm up before the run and for refreshments and fellowship to kick off the holiday season after the event.

"It's a non-competitive, non-timed event that is meant to be in the spirit of getting together and burning off a little before we eat dinner, but I think the real driver for people who participate is that it's a fun event," said Melissa DeCarlo, organizer and office manager of the Iron County Health Department. "There will be people on course playing holiday music, dancing and cheering the runners on. It really is a community supported event."

DeCarlo said that many communities hold Thanksgiving Day "turkey trots" that are organized for all kinds of reasons. The purpose of the Trot-4-Food is to raise funds that are donated to area organizations that help people have a good holiday meal.

Past funds have been donated to food pantries that seek out families that might not otherwise have a holiday meal, she said. The funds provide the food items including turkeys.

In other years the funds have gone to churches and other organizations that provide holiday meal events for the public, she said. This year the donations will go to United Methodist Church of Ironwood that is holding a free community holiday dinner on Friday, Dec 13, she said.

"The whole push is that during this time of season some people are alone, lonely, or going through tough times," DeCarlo said. "We thought that we could supply holiday dinners and do what we could to make sure people could afford it."

The Trot-4-Food is an opportunity for people to get together on a day like Thanksgiving, with an average of 50 to 100 participants on any given year, she said. Nothing has canceled the event from weather that has varied from clear and warm to drizzly and freezing to blizzard conditions, she said.

It can get slippery. The organizers encourage Yaktrax or spiked footwear.

"The super fun part for me is that the weather changes so quickly, it is what it is," DeCarlo said. "People dress the best they can and no one complains so it's a lot of fun."

People come dressed with turkey head gear, families wear matching shirts, and some pull their children in sleds which all adds to the festive atmosphere, she said. This year the participants with paid registrations will receive a "neck gaiter" while supplies last, which is a tube of material with turkey feet prints.

DeCarlo recalls that she was among three couples who ran a 5K together on Thanksgiving Day 2013. When they met back at the car for hot chocolate after the run they agreed on trying to create a community event for fun and charity.

The 2014 event became the first public event with the space for registration and refreshments offered by the health department, she said. It is a fundraiser but just as much about creating something fun for people to do on Thanksgiving, she said.

Melissa Geach, a public health nurse at the health department, said she enjoyed taking part in her first Trot4Food event last year. She served food to the participants while her husband and kids were on the course helping to direct traffic, she said.

"I thought it was great," Geach said.

There are around 10 volunteers who organize the event, but it wouldn't be possible without the support of the Hurley street crews and the Hurley Police Department, she said.

"The street crews put out saw horses and cones and make sure the streets are clear and the police make sure people are crossing the intersections safely," DeCarlo said. "We humbly say we have 10 volunteers but we couldn't do this without them and the support of the mayor and the Hurley Chamber of Commerce.

Register early at the Iron County Health Department or call 715-561-2191.