West Michigan’s biggest Thanksgiving morning tradition is going virtual. Blue Care Network which sponsors the event says registration for the 28th annual Turkey Trot is now open. And even with the pandemic, the race will still provide critical support for Grand Rapids Public Schools.
“It’s always been such a fun ride, since we started doing it about 7 years ago. Just a great thing for the kids to start the holiday season off with.”
That’s Jessica Iloff, and she’s the Manager of Community Responsibility at Blue Cross, Blue Shield of Michigan. She says despite the issues of COVID 19, the annual Turkey Trot will go on, but like so many other things… it’s going virtual.
“It’s all about getting out and getting active, and we can do that with just a pair of tennis shoes when we go out our front door, so we’re going virtual just like all the other runs that have happened since COVID hit in March.”
From the beginning, proceeds from the Turkey Trot’s 5K run/walk have benefited kindergarten through 12th grade athletics in the Grand Rapids Public School District. It offsets the “pay to play” dollars so all kids can participate in sports.
“Really the gist of the whole event is not just to get yourself out and running but again to support the students in athletics at GRPS.”
Last year, more than four-thousand people took part in the Turkey Trot, raising more than 100-thousand dollars for GRPS extracurricular activities.
Blue Care Network is the presenting sponsor for the 7th year, and Iloff says it may be more important now than ever to host it
Runners and walkers can sign up now and can actually complete the Trot on their own between November 19th and Thanksgiving Day. You can find registration info on GRPS website at GRPS.org , and click on athletics.
