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By Kevin Carmody
THE GAZETTE
For a few hours Thanksgiving morning, a Colorado Springs neighborhood just north of Austin Bluffs and Briargate parkways ballooned to a size larger than a handful of small towns. With nearly 2,500 contestants, not to mention volunteers at nearly every turn and a vendor village on hand, the 14th Annual YMCA-Kaiser Permanente Turkey Trot can’t rival Thanksgiving for tradition, but indeed has become one in its own right.
“I’m told this is our largest run that we work,” said officer Mark Drobeck of the Colorado Springs Police Department, stationed at the intersection of Austin Bluffs and Brainard Drive. “I hoped to have a place where I could actually watch the runners. I’ve probably been at this race five or six years, and you’d think I’d have seniority. But it is a lot of fun to be here.”
Race champion Adam Rich, who blazed through hilly neighborhoods and finished the 5K in 15 minutes, 18 seconds, recalled a time not long ago when houses and paved roads were the exception, not the landscape.
“I remember going into these parts when it was just prairie and dirt,” Rich said. “The whole area has evolved. The race has, too. At first, my dad came up with me here. Now, my 4-year-old son is here with me. It’s definitely a tradition in my family.”
The Turkey Trot since 1998 has helped to raise money to support the YMCA of the Pikes Peak Region’s annual community support campaign. When Kaiser Permanente last year opened its senior health center across the street, one of the nation’s largest not-for-profit health plans felt called to join forces with the YMCA.
“It was a natural partnership with being right here, and it’s one of the things we’ll continue,” said C.J. Moore, KP public affairs director, certainly one to stick out of the crowd adorned in her crisp broccoli costume. “As this event has grown, it benefits the Pikes Peak YMCAs region wide, not just the one here. Now that it’s grown, we hope to keep it up here.”
That way, new and born-again runners will continue to get the message of getting outdoors and staying in shape, even if it doesn’t involve consuming large quantities of broccoli.
Just ask Doug Schwenke.
Reclined on a hill just outside the Family Center YMCA, the 41-year-old basked in the glow of finishing his first Turkey Trot.
“I’m just out here burning calories,” the former San Diego high school football player said. “I used to run, but that was a long time and 30 lbs ago. My two sons talked me back into running. I just told myself not to stop. If I did, I knew I wouldn’t start again. These guys are a good inspiration.”
And a chance to burn the extra calories before putting them back at the Thanksgiving dinner table seemed to motivate others.
“This way, I won’t sit around at eat all day,” said Rebecca Payne, an elementary teacher at The Classical Academy’s central campus. “I’ll be doing that anyway later. But by starting out the day with a good race, you can feel good about the rest of the day.”
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