8th Annual Turkey Trot

Thu, Nov 28 | Union Ridge Elementary School

Celebrate Thanksgiving with family, friends, and our Ridgefield community at the annual Ridgefield Public Schools Foundation Turkey Trot! It’s the perfect opportunity to slow down, enjoy time together, and kick off your holiday with a fun, active tradition.

This year’s 8th Annual Turkey Trot, presented by Opsahl Dawson, Cowlitz Indian Tribe, Columbia Credit Union and Clark County Roof Cleaning, will take place on Thursday, November 28th, starting with the Drumstick Dash—a short run for children ages 5 and under and not yet in kindergarten —at 8:45 am. The main event, a 5K run/walk, follows at 9:00 am. Both events will begin and end at Union Ridge Elementary School in downtown Ridgefield.

While the Turkey Trot is a fun run/walk without a formal timer, participants are encouraged to enjoy the spirit of the event and work up an appetite for their Thanksgiving feast.

Race packet pick up and in-person registration will be held on Wednesday, November 27th, from 4:00 to 6:00 pm, and again on race day from 7:45 to 8:45 am in the Union Ridge Elementary School Gym. A limited number of extra T-shirts will be available for purchase during in-person registration.

To ensure you get a race T-shirt, please register by Thursday, November 14th. Additionally, we encourage participants to bring nonperishable food items to packet pick-up for donation to the Ridgefield Family Resource Center. Each item donated will earn you a ticket for a chance to win $100 in local restaurant gift cards.

All proceeds from the event will be equally shared between the Ridgefield Public Schools Foundation and the Ridgefield Family Resource Center, making this a great way to give back to our community while embracing the Thanksgiving spirit. See you there!

RACE DETAILS

DRUMSTICK DASH

Once again our Turkey Trot will feature a Drumstick Dash, a short run for our youngest participants ages 5 and under (not yet in kindergarten). We will make an announcement at 8:40 am for any children interested in participating to report to the starting line. The Drumstick Dash will begin at 8:45 am.

5K FUN RUN/WALK

Our main event, the 5K run/walk, will get started at 9 am. Those who are planning to run should position themselves at the front of the crowd, closest to the starting line. Walkers, please make way for runners who are trying to move to the front. There is no official timer for our fun run/walk event, so those interested in knowing their finish times should plan to use their own watches to time themselves. For safety, please keep in mind that at certain points on the route you may be asked to stop for vehicle traffic (vehicles have the right of way during the Turkey Trot) so finish times could be impacted.

5K ROUTE:

The course begins on 5th Ave. at Union Ridge Elementary and then heads down to Abrams Park and continues northeast along the trail bordering Gee Creek. From there the route takes participants up Heron Drive to Main Ave. It then continues south to the corner of Main & Pioneer and takes participants down to the Ridgefield waterfront via the railroad overpass. Participants will follow the course along Lake River and turn around near the south end of Carty Lake. The course then continues in reverse, back up to the corner of Main & Pioneer, where participants will head north for one block before heading east up Simons St. to finish back at Union Ridge Elementary.

EVENT SAFETY NOTE

Roads remain open throughout the event. Please stay to the right on roads and use sidewalks whenever possible. Once again, this is a family friendly fun run/walk event. Participants may be subject to brief waits for vehicle traffic. Since roads remain open, vehicle traffic does have the right away.

BRING ITEMS FOR THE RIDGEFIELD FAMILY RESOURCE CENTER

The Ridgefield Family Resource Center is seeking non-perishable foods (especially cereal, rice, pasta sauce, canned fruit, canned meat, and canned pasta meals) as well as new socks and stretchy knit gloves. For each item (non-perishable food items, pairs of socks, and pairs of gloves) brought to packet pick-up/in-person registration on Wednesday or Thursday morning, you will receive one ticket for entry into a prize drawing for $100 of local restaurant gift cards.

T-SHIRTS AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE
For any participants who do not meet the T-shirt registration deadline of Nov. 14th at 10 pm, a limited number of T-shirts will be available for purchase at packet pick-up/in-person registration at a cost of $5 each.

EVENT PARKING

Parking will be available at Union Ridge Elementary, the RACC, and the Ridgefield Church of the Nazarene. Street parking throughout downtown Ridgefield is also an option for participants.