The fifth annual Seattle Turkey Trot is coming up this Thanksgiving Day. What better way than to kick of Thanksgiving with this fun, family-friendly event to benefit the Ballard Food Bank?

The fifth annual Seattle Turkey Trot is a 5K fun-run or walk that takes people from 32nd Avenue NW and NW 85th Street down to Golden Gardens, helping them burn some calories before consuming all that indulgent Thanksgiving food.

Plus, all proceeds from this event will benefit the Ballard Food Bank as they prepare for the cold and busy winter months.

Last year, 1,100 people participated and over $19,000 was donated to the Ballard Food Bank. This year, organizers are expecting around 2,000 participants.

“During Thanksgiving, people spend a lot of time thinking about food. We want to raise money for those in our community who are helping the hungry,” says Matt Ramme, one of the event’s organizers. “We chose [to support] the Ballard Food Bank because it is a local Ballard non-profit and people can connect the run with a nearby organization.”

The Seattle Turkey Trot was started by Ballardites Erin Fortier, Matt Ramme, and John O'Brien.

“In my family it was a tradition to go for a run on Thanksgiving morning,” says Erin. “It was a way to spend time with family on the holidays and feel better about all the food we’d be eating for the rest of the day.”

Six years ago, the Ballard trio ran in the Portland Turkey Trot and plans for a Seattle Turkey Trot were formed. At the time no such Thanksgiving-day event existed in Seattle.

With little to no event planning experience, the friends sent email invitations, printed t-shirts, and mapped out a scenic Ballard route. Fifty people participated the first year. “Everyone had a great time,” says Matt. “We saw great potential to expand the event.”

This year’s Trot is being organized by Fortier, Ramme, O’Brien and staff and volunteers from the Ballard Food Bank.

The event will take place Thanksgiving morning, November 24, 2011, at 9:00 a.m. at 32nd Avenue NW and NW 85th Street. Registration is $25 and the final deadline for online registration is Tuesday, November 22rd. T-shirts will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Day-of registrations are accepted (cash or check only), but there will be no t-shirts available for day-of registrations.

Costumes are encouraged.

Visit http://www.seattleturkeytrot.org for more information.