Turkey trot gains major support from club teams

Pilgrims, turkeys and pumpkin pie came together for the 28th Annual Turkey Trot on Sunday afternoon.

The event, sponsored by Campus Recreation, drew 110 participants.

The race was four miles, beginning at Forest Theatre and weaving through the N.C. Botanical Garden. Participants could also choose to do the one-mile “fun walk.”

The crowd mostly consisted of students, with a small number of faculty and families from the community.

The price of entering was a can of food to benefit the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina.

“This is predominantly a charity event,” said Meghann Martinez, special events intern for Campus Recreation and organizer of the event. “A lot of it is in the spirit of giving and being generous.”

More than a hundred cans were collected at the race, which contributed to the twenty trash barrels sports teams have been filling all week.

Sports clubs could get community service points for bringing in cans as part of the Sport Club Community Service Incentive Program.

The program is meant to encourage community service participation among students who play club sports. Clubs get more money the more they participate.

There were four divisions in the race: a men and women’s category for students and two “open” categories for faculty, staff and community members.

The first-place winner in each category won a turkey, and there were drawings for pies and bottles of sparkling cider.

Marc Jeuland, winner of the UNC men’s division for the second year in a row, said he is going to invite some friends over and roast his turkey with Ethiopian spices. He won the race with a time of 22:38.

“It’s a nice run through the woods,” said Jeuland, who is a Ph.D. candidate in the Gillings School of Global Public Health. “It’s a fun race, it’s low-key and enjoyable.”

Participants consisted of club sport teams, the Carolina Marathon Team and the School of Public Health Running Club. Some runners said they were receiving extra credit for a class.

More than twenty participants ran from the men’s crew team.

“It was a team effort,” said Chuck Esswein, a member of the team. “The entire team decided to come out and support this and make our presence known.”

Esswein dressed up as a turkey in brown and orange, with “Eat More Chickin’” written on his brown sweatshirt.

“I guess I was just getting into the spirit of things,” he said.

Campus Recreation Director Marty Pomerantz and his wife, Meg, dressed up in Thanksgiving attire, calling themselves “Mr. and Mrs. Pilgrim,” to direct the race. Marty has been in charge of the event since he came to Carolina in 1976.

“It’s a fun opportunity for our students to do, to come out and be active,” Marty said.

Overall, the organizers said they felt that the race went well.

“I think it was a great event, and people had a lot of fun” Martinez said.



Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.