Turkey Trot race to help food bank

Local runners and walkers can work up

an appetite for a day of feasting on pie and stuffing this

Thanksgiving morning at the inaugural 5K Turkey Trot race. It will

also be an opportunity to help stock the shelves at the North

Valley Food Bank.

Sponsored by Run Whitefish and Third

Street Market, participants are encouraged to bring canned or dried

food to contribute. For each pound of food given, 10 seconds will

be dropped from the donator’s overall race time.

“If you bring 100 pounds, you could be

in the negatives,” race director and Run Whitefish founder Matthew

Smeltzer said. “I really hope people show up with more than just a

can. I’d love to see everyone bring in 20 pounds of food each.”

Food bank director June Munski-Feenan

said they’re in need of food that kids can easily prepare by

themselves after school, such as canned chili and crackers, soups

or boxes of macaroni and cheese. And there’s always a demand for

fresh or frozen juice this time of year, she said.

“We always can use monetary donations,

too,” she suggested.

Smeltzer said he’s excited about

putting on the race since Run Whitefish first organized last

Thanksgiving.

“This whole thing started last year

when I wanted to run a turkey trot, but there wasn’t one in

Whitefish,” Smeltzer said.

He created the running club that

winter, organizing group runs as well as a weekly Rotary Club race.

To date, Run Whitefish has sponsored races that benefited the WAG

Race for the dog park, the Fish Trails 5K for local bike paths and

the Whitefish Legacy Race on the new Whitefish Trail.

The Turkey Trot will start at Riverside

Park near the tennis courts at 8 a.m. Prizes donated by The Toggery

will be awarded to winners, and Smeltzer and his wife Eleanor have

whipped up a few batches of organic cookie dough as awards,

too.

Runners can register today from 4-7

p.m. at the Third Street Market for $10 or by visiting online at

whitefishturkeytrot.com.