Turkey Trot Moving to Fredericksburg Expo Center
Plans are to move the popular Thanksgiving race to Central Park after the city received complaints about having the event run through downtown.
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The 20th annual Turkey Trot race is moving out of downtown Fredericksburg to Central Park because the race got too big, the organizer said today.
Terry McLaughlin said the race route should be finalized by the end of the week.
"As of right now we will start and finish at the Expo Center," he said. "The race got too big."
McLaughlin said Fredericksburg Department of Economic Development and Tourism Director Karen Hedelt approached him after the race last year about moving the Thanksgiving morning race because a few residents complained about it and the race was getting too big.
"When we first did it we had about 200 runners, that was it and it has grown ever since," he said. More than 3,000 people registered for the race last year.
McLaughlin said he is fine with the move and was considering it anyway because one of the main challenges of having it start at James Monroe High School the past two years is that runners would have to squeeze into one lane on Washington Avenue as they approached the right turn onto Cornell Street.
"That was the main issue," he said. "People had to stop and slow down."
For the first 17 years, the race started at the downtown library on Caroline Street, but McLaughlin said it outgrew that route so it was moved to start and end at the James Monroe High School parking lot.
"Central Park is an ideal place because it will probably accommodate 6,000 to 10,000 runners," he said.
Hedelt said as the race has grown through the years, it has created an increasing impact on the neighborhoods in which it is staged.
"We have fielded a number of complaints from residents who are impacted not just by the Turkey Trot but by an increasing number of events that affect their daily lives," she said in an email today. "This year with the volume of runners and concerns for safety, especially in the start/finish area, we told the YMCA staff they needed to strategize how to continue the race safely using another course."
There are 29 walks, runs and races held in the city right of way. A PDF is attached to this article listing all of the races and routes.
Hedelt said she is working with event sponsors of other races to adjust routes, especially for new events, for the numerous run and walk events that are staged in the same neighborhoods "so the impact is dispersed throughout the city as best we can."
Visit the YMCA website for more information on the race and registration forms.
In This article
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Fredericksburg Expo and Conference Center
2371 Carl D Silver Pkwy, Fredericksburg, VA
Dan Telvock
3:09 pm on Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Why are you voting yes or no?
Kaye Kingsbury
9:28 pm on Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Part of our Thanksgiving celebration is sitting on our front porch and cheering folks on during the event. It's a healthy, positive event for downtown. Neighbors come together during such events for coffee and chatter.
RAR
3:23 pm on Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Are we gonna move marine corp marathon too by their definition.
RAR
3:24 pm on Tuesday, June 12, 2012
They also should be moved from downtown
Jsmith
3:47 pm on Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Is this really worthy of special news alert? It doesn't happen until Thanksgiving.
Dan Telvock
3:49 pm on Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Between 3,000 and 4,000 and potentially 6-10,000 local people run in the race---so yeah, it's definitely breaking news. Registration is already open for the race.
Dan Telvock
8:40 pm on Tuesday, June 12, 2012
RAR, the marine corp marathon is a bit more spread out than the 5k Turkey Trot, just for clarification.
Scott
9:23 pm on Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Its funny but everything Fredericksburg has that takes place downtown and could help stimulate the merchants there. Someone comes around to boot out another event but then again when this race takes place most of the merchants downtown are probably still not open or never will. They rather complain because they know it all!
Robert Payne
2:24 pm on Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Scott.. Actually this is residents complaining not merchants.. Get your facts straight.
Jason Atkinson
10:11 am on Thursday, June 14, 2012
For my money, if it takes place on Thanksgiving Day, none of the merchants are open anyway...
PiedmontN8ive
8:48 am on Wednesday, June 13, 2012
What event will be next to get the boot? The Christmas Parade?
Dan Telvock
8:50 am on Wednesday, June 13, 2012
try not to lose sight that the organizer was perfectly OK with moving the event and was actually considering it before the city even approached him. I think that important point mentioned in this article should be considered.
Debby Girvan
9:08 am on Wednesday, June 13, 2012
As a runner, I really hate to see the race move to Central Park but with that many runners on the course it becomes a safety issue, too. I've been in some tight spots where runners are so bottle necked they are at risk of tripping or even being trampled. Be glad our races are so popular!
RAR
9:48 pm on Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Dan I beg to disagree with your point. As a downtown resident It took me 30 minutes to cross the street due to the marathon race. I also moved all my cars to an opposite street only to find they were blocked in too. The marine corp marathon is highly disruptive to the downtown area. I even had them use my trash cans on the side of my house to throw all their cups in. Also unless you get the fls or are a patch subscriber none of the residents are notified of the inconvenience , they should put out notices to the residents that are affected.
I Live Downtown
12:05 pm on Friday, November 9, 2012
I know I'm late to the game here, but I just realized the Turkey Trot has been moved. I can not believe the Turkey trot is not down town!!! This is heartbreaking to me. Me and my extended family that come for thanksgiving have been doing this for 15 years. The crowds and hectic nature of it being downtown are what makes it great. Once again a poor decision has been made that further weakens the unique culture of Fredericksburg. I just read the article from June regarding the reasons for the change. I can not and will not believe that there are not other options. The nature of this race is different than others. It is all about family and community. The race just lost 15 participants. No one wants to walk or run around Silver Park on Thanksgiving. When I see all that beautiful land that was destroyed for commercial use and economic "growth", where failing businesses continually turn over and life blood is diverted from downtown, I am not Thankful.
I can only hope that there will be a significant push back from this decision and that in the future this family event will return to where families live.
Here is who you can voice your oppinion to:
http://www.fredericksburgva.gov/contact_us.aspx?name=Tourism