Each year, on Thanksgiving morning, thousands of runners line up at Van Andel Arena in downtown Grand Rapids with anticipation. At 8:30 a.m., the 5K race starts, and adults and kids alike begin to run for a greater cause.
This is the 33rd year of the Grand Rapids Turkey Trot, helping to raise money for Grand Rapids Public Schools scholar-athletes. GRPS Director of Communications Lucas Stier has seen firsthand the importance of the race for their students.
“All of the money raised from Turkey Trot goes directly to help pay for scholars who want to participate in athletics,” Stier said, “so we don’t have to pay-to-play at GRPS because of events like Turkey Trot.”
In recent years, the Trot has significantly increased in popularity, raising a record total of $286,000 last year with upwards of 6,400 participants. This year, GRPS is hoping to reach a total of $300,000—with the help of local runners such as FHC math teacher Daniel Garbowitz.
“I have run the Turkey Trot for the past five years,” Garbowitz said. “Last year, my family did it with me, so it was kind of like a little Thanksgiving morning tradition. I’ve been running road races for a long time, so it’s something that I do quite frequently.”
Similarly, FHC senior Tessa Bunting is in her third year of participating in the Trot.
“[The Turkey Trot] is fun because I just get to walk with my family,” Tessa said. “We kind of just talk the whole time because we actually don’t like to run it—we like to walk. I’m able to talk to some of my family who don’t live in Michigan, and it’s a really good time to catch up with one another, especially since some of my family is away at college now, so I don’t get to see them as much.”
In the future, Tessa hopes that her family will continue running the Trot and also plans to return from college each year to maintain the tradition.
“I feel like every year it gets better,” Tessa said, “because there’s kind of a joke that we say that with the Turkey Trot, there are Turkey Trot families, and we’ve become that, so we just have to embrace it.”
As a member of a “Turkey Trot Family” himself, Garbowitz believes that the Trot serves not only as just another race to complete, but also as a way to reconcile with old friends and support Grand Rapids students.
“I think the Grand Rapids Turkey Trot is fun,” Garbowitz said. “It’s like the biggest race around here with 6,000-7,000 people that show up. I see Forest Hills Central kids there. I see some old colleagues there. It’s a good fundraiser for [GRPS], which is a bonus.”
Many families like to dress up in accordance with the holiday, often donning turkey costumes and even Detroit Lions football gear to prepare for the annual afternoon game. In addition, GRPS has designated turkey trotters stationed throughout the course to give participants an extra incentive to race.
“We have some people dressed up as turkey mascots, and there’s one really fast one,” Stier said. “The goal is if you’re really trying to race, you want to try and beat that turkey. But we’ve got a few others walking throughout the course as well, rather than running.”
As the Turkey Trot gains traction each year, Stier believes its influence will continue to benefit the lives of GRPS students and citizens of Grand Rapids alike.
“[The Trot] is such a great way to start [Thanksgiving], especially a holiday that is focused a lot on food,” Stier said. “We know we’re gonna eat a lot later in the day. It feels better to go for a run in the morning before you do that to feel less guilty. Also, the community support around our scholars is incredible; the entire metro-Grand Rapids area—we believe in kids, right? And that is the mission of this race: to help come together to raise money for kids.”
