GRPS produces Turkey Trot downtown

GRPS produces Turkey Trot downtown

Courtesy GRPS

It’s looking like one of the biggest Thanksgivings ever for the Turkey Trot 5K downtown.

The Thanksgiving Day run/walk in downtown Grand Rapids is produced by Grand Rapids Public Schools, or GRPS, and presented by Blue Care Network of Michigan.

This year's event has more than 1,400 people registered, which is more than double what it had last year at this time.

The Turkey Trot 5K will begin at 8 a.m. at Van Andel Arena. The event will also feature a free 1K mini trot for children 12 and younger, starting at roughly 8:40 a.m.

The purpose of the event is to engage the community in a higher level of awareness around physical fitness, movement and nutrition.

Athletics fundraiser

Funds raised by the Turkey Trot go toward GRPS athletics and help offset the costs of pay-to-play sports for more than 6,000 student-athletes.

Turkey Trot organizers are hoping to raise between $30,000 and $40,000 this year.

“We’re very excited to see such a high amount of registrants this early,” said Kurt Johnson, executive director of K-12 athletics, GRPS. “We usually see a registration spike during Thanksgiving week. With a jumpstart like this, we’ll be able to do a lot of great things for these young athletes.”

Registration

Registration for the Turkey Trot 5K is $30 and $35 on the morning of the race, from 6:30-7:58 a.m.

People can register for the event online