Pittsburg’s 2nd Annual Turkey Trot a big success

The Turkey Trot is supposed to be a fun community event. Whether you’re a serious runner or just a casual walker.

Renato Pinto, The Running Collective

BY PRESTON FRAZIER
HOMETOWN GIRARD

▸▸ Thanksgiving is a time for eating lots of food, watching lots of football, and taking lots of naps. But this year, for me, it also involved a healthy amount of walking and jogging. I decided to sign up for Pittsburg’s 2nd Annual Turkey Trot 5K Run/Walk that took place on Thanksgiving morning. Now while I regret not training or preparing for the race in any way, I am so glad I took part in this wonderful community event.

Put on by The Running Collective (a community walking/running group that started in September 2022), this year’s event brought in over 400 participants and the proceeds went to help Special Olympics in Pittsburg. It was a GREAT opportunity to get active, while also helping a wonderful local organization.

The race started at Pittsburg’s Memorial Auditorium and ended there as well. And for those wanting to know, a 5k is approximately 3.1 miles. After the race, I was able to catch up with Renato Pinto, the director for both The Running Collective and The Turkey Trot. I asked him what he wanted others to know about The Turkey Trot.

This is what he had to say:

“The Turkey Trot is supposed to be a fun community event. Whether you’re a serious runner or just a casual walker. We just want the community to partake on a little bit of fitness on Thanksgiving morning. We are all gathering with our families that day, why not have everyone get together in the morning and run/walk a 5K?”

Pinto also mentioned to me that The Running Collective has weekly runs/walks every Wednesday at either 5:30 am or 6 pm. And for those that are unable to make those times, they also host a group run/walk on a Saturday or Sunday once a month. Those dates and times vary but the best way to be kept in the loop is to check their social media page on Facebook.

For me personally, I know I had a blast during The Turkey Trot even though I was extremely sore the Saturday and Sunday afterward. But, I’m already looking forward to the event again next year.

The good news is that there will in fact be a 3rd Annual Turkey Trot next year in Pittsburg. I asked Pinto if they had plans for this in 2024. “Of course, we plan on doing it every year from now on! I feel like the community loved it and look forward to it now so we’re excited to see what we can add to their experience next year,” he said.

And If that’s not enough, stay tuned because the Running Collective is also working on a cycling event for the Spring of 2024. Pinto said, “It’ll be a race with distances from 25 miles all the way up to 100 miles. We’re hoping to draw in tourists from Northwest Arkansas, Northeast Oklahoma, and the KC area. Pittsburg has some beautiful scenery to ride but most importantly, the majority of the roads are flat and fast, a cyclist’s dream. We’ll be marketing the race as the fastest and flattest 100-mile race in Kansas.”

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