Starting Thanksgiving with a trot
Although Halloween ended nine hours earlier, Polly Goettler not only convinced a group of her friends to dress up in costume Saturday morning, Nov. 1, but also got them all to “power walk” a 5K with her.
It was the first time any of the flock would participate in the Butler County Family YMCA’s Turkey Trot, with each of them saying they are not regular runners. But spirits were still high ahead of the race which always takes place on the first Saturday of November.
“I saw it and thought, ‘This sounds fun,’” said Goettler, of Butler. “So I contacted friends and these are all the friends who said yes.”
The group of six women were just a few of the 195 people who registered to take on the 5K and the 1-mile courses Saturday morning. Jamie Knauff, aquatics and programs director for the Butler YMCA, said the event had good turnout, in part because it’s advertised a lot to members of the YMCA, and because it has become a community staple over the years.
“It just brings the community together,” she said. “We do have a handful of members running today.”
Prior to the 1-mile event kicking off at 9:45 a.m., the YMCA had booths set up inside where people could learn more about the agency’s programs and other upcoming events and classes. The place was populated with plenty of runners, but also many other people who came to cheer on their peers.
But for many of the racers, the run is just another opportunity to get out for a friendly competition, in a race against people of all ages.
Bryson Myrlie runs cross country at Butler Senior High School, and said the race was kind of a makeup competition for him, because he missed making it to the state cross country competition by what he called a small margin. He didn’t come up short at the Turkey Trot, though, because he took first place in the 5K race by a good few seconds.
Bryson said he usually runs about three miles when training and competing, so the Turkey Trot was a good substitute for his regular events.
“I’m a 5K guy; I didn’t feel the greatest about today, my hands were cold,” said Bryson, who also works as a lifeguard at the YMCA. “Today it was nice to come out, run where there’s low pressure.”
The race was enjoyable not just for the winners, but even for the last person to finish the 1-mile. Kevin Swearinger, of Baltimore, Md., said this was also the first time he had participated in the Butler YMCA’s Turkey Trot, but it was a particularly important one for him to do. He came to cheer on a friend from Pittsburgh who did the trot last year, a person who has since died.
After crossing the finish line to cheers from dozens of people, Swearinger said he thought of this friend.
“My best friend is a pastor in Pittsburgh and her husband did the walk last year,” Swearinger said. “Her husband passed, so I said I would do the walk for him this year. It was a really nice one to come out to.”
