By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
There is plenty of time for working off those Thanksgiving calories after Turkey Day on Nov. 24. Sunflower Diversified Services is giving you the opportunity to burn some energy beforehand with the second annual Turkey Trot 5K on Saturday, Nov. 12.
"We are having our second annual Turkey Trot 5K, which is just a fun race, basically, through town," said Sunflower's Director of Planned Giving and Community Support Cody Harris. "We also added a 1-mile Fun Run for people who don't necessarily want to do the 5K because 3.11 miles is a lot of miles."
Registration is $25 for the 5K race and $20 for the Fun Run. Registered runners who bring two non-perishable food items to be donated to the Barton County Food Bank will also be entered into a drawing for a Garmin watch donated by Catalyst Therapy and Sports Rehab. The 5K race will be divided into age groups for men and women, and the top male and female runners win an additional prize.
"The overall male and the overall female of the Turkey Trot will actually win a turkey a couple of weeks before Thanksgiving," said Harris. "If they come out and run, they can end up providing the main course for Thanksgiving."
Harris said fundraisers like the runs help Sunflower cover shortfalls in helping individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Approximately 50 people signed up to run for the first event last November, and Harris was pleased by the generosity.
"Last year I brought a pretty good-sized bucket, and I underestimated," he said. "People came through, and they brought more than two cans, a lot of them. They brought whole skids of green beans and stuff. Right before the holidays, that's a big deal."
Register online by CLICKING HERE, or on race day from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. The 5K race begins at 10:30, and the Fun Run begins five minutes after that at Brit Spaugh Park.