Monday, October 3, 2011

2nd Annual Save-A-Turkey Trot

The 2nd Annual Save-A-Turkey Trot was held on Saturday, October 2nd, and despite the threat of rain, it turned out to be a pretty nice day for a trot! (See our report from last year.)

We welcomed 22 people - 6 opted to run, 2 were joggers, and the remainder strolled along the scenic and fresh 5km walking path along the waterfront in Victoria in support of an animal-friendly Thanksgiving! Turkeys are symbolic of this holiday, but it's no excuse for exploiting and harming other animals. OrganicAthlete Victoria and Friends of Animals both recommend a compassionate vegan Thanksgiving dinner. - visit our Action page for more info, and delicious vegan recipes: http://TheVictoriaVegan.com/foa/  Also visit the Friends of Animals VeganMeans website for a great selection of Thanksgiving and Holiday recipes: http://www.veganmeans.com/how_veganism/Thanksgiving_Remember.htm



We set the walkers out 10 minutes before the runners, so all would arrive around the same time.

The record to break, from Kevin Park last year, was 20:33, although he ended up taking a slightly longer route along the beach for a short while.



We saw Glenn Jasechko (running barefoot!) coming over the hill at around 18 minutes and were surprised to see him so early! He sprinted for the line and stopped the clock at 18:44, raising the bar significantly from last year! Our next top finisher was Jenn Marr who came through next at 23:26, a minute short of her time from last year, 22:36, although she came off the beach as well, perhaps mirroring Kevin's route from last year.



Next to cross the line were Michelle Dagg and Cara McLean both at 25:04. While this was Cara's first Trot, Michelle raced last year, and was most improved dropping over 5mins from last years time of 30:35! Will Michelle drop another 5 minutes for the 2012 event?! Check back in a year! =)




Evan Guengerich and Bridget Lambert finished strong with times of 26:46 and 27:46.



Our joggers, Reese Willis and Eko Goldberg finished together to the cheers of our runners, and before long our walkers turned up - Kiley McLean gave a little kick at the end and finished at the front of the walkers with a time of 52:10. ;)



After a short break, prizes were awarded, and we'd like to thank Clif Bar, Purica, Vega, Lotus Pond and Sarah's Place for their generous contributions to our entry goodies and draw prizes; all left with smiles and prizes in hand!

Also, a shout out to our amazing volunteers, Ailsa and Scott who made sure things went smoothly.

Feedback from participants was really positive, and so we'll be trying to come up with more ideas for 'trots' to do throughout the year. Let us know if you have any idea or inspirations for more events like this!

Dave Shishkoff
Canadian Correspondent
Friends of Animals
Web Site: http://FriendsofAnimals.org
Victoria: http://TheVictoriaVegan.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2496490922
Twitter: http://Twitter.com/FoA_Victoria
FoA Vegan Starter Guide PDF: http://bit.ly/foa-vsg