Turkey Trot race report

Submitted by Lupe Steele @LupeSteele

The eighth annual Applied Materials Silicon Valley Turkey Trot drew a record breaking crowd of just shy of 25,000 participants on a beautifully brisk Thanksgiving morning in downtown San Jose. The event raised raised $750,000 for charity plus an additional $500,000 from an anonymous technology company CEO.  The target charities were The Second Harvest Food Bank, The Housing Trust and Children's Health Initiative. The Silicon Valley Turkey Trot brought out families from near and far some decked out in their wacky costumes or Turkey Hats.

I participated in the Turkey Trot during its inaugural run in 2005, at the time there were only 1,900 runners and walkers, and raised $132,000. This year the crowd engulfed most of Downtown San Jose. I had the distinct pleasure of sharing this event with both my sisters, my dad and my 6 year old son who was slightly overwhelmed by the crowd. The crowd made it a cozy run with little room to run down the streets of San Jose but enough motivation to run our personal best and have a great time. My son was incredibly proud to have had the opportunity to outrun his mama, his aunts and even his Abuelito who is an avid runner.

#Run3rd was well represented at this event. I had taken the wishes and dedications that were provided to me and our fearless leader Sean Astin during the week and stitched the dedications to the back of my shirt. As I stood waiting in my corral for the run to start, I was asked by a group to stop and turn around so that they could read and take a picture of the dedications that were on my back. It was wonderful to participate in this event with my family and it was all the sweeter to have the causes of my #Run3rd family behind me.