Before sitting down for turkey at the Thanksgiving Day table, more walkers and runners than ever before will be lining up at the start of Track Shack’s Seniors First Turkey Trot in Orlando.
The 36th annual Thanksgiving Day fun run will be held on Thursday at 8 a.m. at Lake Eola and is expected to be the biggest turnout in the run’s history – a trend that’s on par with turkey trots across the country.
More than 4,500 people have registered for the fun run – the most it’s ever recorded, and a large jump from 2022, when it had 3,500 participants, said Track Shack co-owner Betsy Hughes. Numbers have been steadily climbing since the COVID-19 pandemic brought social events like the Turkey Trot to a halt.
“We used to get close to 4,000 before the pandemic,” Hughes said. “Five years ago, things really slowed down in the running business, and we are slowly climbing back up to pre-pandemic numbers, and we’re thrilled.”
The rising number of participants in these Thanksgiving-themed events can be seen around the country, too. According to Runsignup.com, the biggest running day of the year is Thanksgiving Thursday. Last year, there was a record of more than 1.1 million people who signed up for 936 turkey trots across the country. It was a 21% increase in participants from just the year before. Runsignup also noted that Florida had the most registered turkey trots in the country, with 56 last year.
Hughes thinks the reason for the growth in popularity is two-fold. The first is the health aspect of going out exercising ahead of a Thanksgiving feast, she said. Although it should be noted that the average person will burn 300 to 400 calories in a 5K run, according to proudtorun.org. The average Thanksgiving dinner has about 3,000 calories, according to an estimate by the Calorie Control Council.
The second reason Hughes believes trots are growing is because it’s something families can do together.
“We'll have people come in, and they're picking up 25 packets because their entire family or their block, everybody's going to participate. It is just so much fun,” she said. While there will be medals for participants at the finish line, it's also a “fun run,” not a race. The emphasis on having a good time, rather than a fast time, is also part of the appeal, Hughes said.
There will also be a costume contest on the day of the run. Hughes said that’s one of her favorite parts because of how outrageous some costumes venture to be.
“We've had people run with a real Turkey on their head that they carved out. I mean, that sounds so disgusting, but they've done it all,” she said.
While the start of the run is 8 a.m. Hughes recommends participants get to Lake Eola by 6:30 a.m., as the downtown parking is likely to be stuffed.
“Get there early enough to get situated, and if you haven't picked up your bib and your shirt, you have that opportunity race day, as well,” Hughes said.
Money raised from the run will be sent to Meals on Wheels and other programs that support seniors.
