Record number turns out for local 5K Turkey Trot

It was a preview to Black Friday.

A crush of a couple thousand people, elbow-to-elbow, waited for the signal to charge ahead.

What happened next, though, was no mass trampling for flat-screen TVs and laptop computers.

It was a sprint for fitness and a good cause.

The Briargate Family Center YMCA Turkey Trot is a popular tradition for runners to negate the Thanksgiving gluttony. Proceeds from the $25 entry fee go toward YMCA scholarships for membership, sports programs and camps.

A record number of more than 2,000 people ran the 9 a.m. 5K, which kicked off with an 8:15 a.m. 1K kids’ run led by police on motorcycles.

First-time trotter Angie Yoder, decked headdress-to-toe as a turkey — complete with a red wattle thing on her neck — was one surprised bird.

“I thought there would only be like 50 to 75 people here,” she said.

“It makes running more fun,” said her friend, Angel Brock, cloaked in pilgrim garb.

Robby Young finished first in the 5K, crossing the line in a tad over 16 minutes. The lean runner didn’t look like he’d ever taken a second helping of pie, much less a first.

“I run 80-85 miles a week,” he said. “When you run that much, everything burns.”

“I’m going to two dinners today. I get to eat twice,” said Adam Rich, finishing a few steps behind Young.

Top runners won gift certificates, hams and turkeys, but the event wasn’t about prizes or winning.

“It’s about community,” said Emmie Mediate, 16, who ran into friends from school and church.

The sidelines were packed with cheering fans.

“To see the families bonding together was really cool,” YMCA spokesman Augie Mendoza said.

Sisters Sydney and Courtney Egbert didn’t mind getting up early on a holiday to run a kilometer.

“I have run a mile, so this was really short,” 9-year-old Sydney said.

“She beated me,” said Courtney, 8.

“It’s not ‘beated,’ it’s ‘beat,’” Sydney corrected.

Oh, whatever. It was better than the alternative.

“My brother at home didn’t come, so he had to clean the bathroom,” Courtney said.

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