Last Updated on November 14, 2023 10:10 am
BOONE, N.C. – November 07, 2023: – The High Country Turkey Trot 5K Race and Fun Run / Walk will take place on Thanksgiving morning, Thursday November 23, on the Boone Greenway Trail at the Clawson-Burnley Park entrance. Excepting two virtual years during the pandemic, the annual Thanksgiving Day event, benefiting Hospitality House of Northwest N.C., has been taking place on the Boone Greenway Trail since 2011.
The 5K chip-timed race will kick off at 9:00 a.m. with the Fun Run / Walk, for casual runners, joggers and walkers following ten minutes later. Named a Top Ten Holiday 5K race by Our State magazine back in 2016, this destination race regularly attracts over 1,000 participants from twenty-five different states and over fifty North Carolina cities and towns last year.
“Being back on the Greenway last year was phenomenal,” stated Hospitality House chief development director Todd Carter. “We had a near record turnout. You could tell that people were excited to be back together, after two years of ‘run the race at your place.’ We are really hoping to break the attendance record this year.”
Since 2011, the High Country Turkey Trot has raised over $300,000 and six tons of food to support the mission of Hospitality House of Northwest North Carolina, a regional homeless services agency providing housing, food access, counseling and homeless prevention in seven counties.
Presented by Mast General Store, Kilwin’s of Blowing Rock, and Stallings & Co. Interior Design, the event also features the Leigh Cooper Wallace winner’s chute, dedicated in 2013, a costume contest, hot apple cider, hot chocolate, healthy snacks, outdoor fire pits and gas heaters. Additional sponsors include, Molecular Toxicology Inc., Mount Vernon Baptist Church, Allen Wealth Management, Wren’s Nest Garden Center & Landscape Design, Bridgeman Dental, Curtis Media/High Country Radio, Pet Prairie Dog Retreat, LifeStore Bank & Insurance, and David Patrick Moses, Architect.
For the 5K race, professional, automatic chip-timing will be provided by Event Mercenaries out of Black Mountain. Race results will be provided in overall and age division formats with first-place finishers in each age division receiving a certificate. Stick Boy Bakery pumpkin pies will be awarded to the first, second and third place overall finishes for men and women.
Except for the 5K race, the course is paved and wheelchair accessible. Everyone is welcome to participate, including families with children, strollers, and pets on a leash. All participants are asked to bring non-perishable food items – canned goods, boxed goods, dry goods – for donation to the Hospitality House Food Access programs which served close to 200,000 meals last year in their Community Kitchen, Food Pantry, and Remote Food Locker Program in the Bethel community.
Registration, available online at HCTurkeyTrot.org, is $40 and includes a commemorative long-sleeve t-shirt in both adult and youth sizes. Those wishing to participate but not wanting a t-shirt may register for $20. Onsite day-of registration will be $45 and $25 respectively.
Back by popular demand is the Sleep-In Option. Perfect for someone who’s not a morning person, is stuck at home cooking the Turkey or just loves to watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Registration is $40.
Packet pickup will be available November 22 from 10 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. at the Hospitality House Housing & Outreach Center, located at 160 Den Mac Drive beside Hatchet Coffee. Packet pickup will also be available the morning of the event beginning at 7:30 a.m.
To learn more about Hospitality House, visit them online at HospHouse.org, follow them on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Snapchat or Venmo at @HospHouse; or on X @HospHouseNWNC.
