Garden City Turkey Trot: 'A fantastic tradition'

Thanksgiving is a holiday of traditions: turkey dinners, family activities and, for about 6,000 runners, a brisk jog through Garden City.

The 38th annual Garden City Turkey Trot set off Thursday morning with 6,675 runners, said race director Ken Aneser. Entry fees and donations to the race benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, the Muscular Dystrophy Association and the Long Island soup kitchen, The INN.

"I've done it four years already," said Inwood resident Raul Lopez, 48, just before the 5-mile race began. "I like to run with a lot of people. It motivates me."

Thursday morning, participants filled Stewart Avenue in front of the vacant St. Paul's School in Garden City. Many accessorized their running gear with hats and gloves and a few donned turkey hats and costumes.

Kenny Hirsch, 40, of Carle Place, said he was proud of his long red beard and wanted to mark the start of the holiday season, which was why he was dressed as a running Santa for the second year in row. His wife, Cici, 37, was dressed as Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and her mother, Sheryl Hall, 62, a Levittown resident and race newcomer, donned an elf costume.

The event offers something for all types of visitors, Aneser said. For those who run, there was the 5-mile Turkey Trot, the 1.4-mile fun run and the 0.22-mile Challenger course for children with disabilities.

For those who wanted to contribute but didn't consider themselves athletic, there was a food drive.

But no matter the intention, the race builds a sense of community and tradition among participants, Aneser said.

The trot had participants from all over the country signed up this year -- and families with multiple generations participated.

"It's just a fantastic tradition," he said. "You start your day off right."

Siblings Joanne Ip, 35, and Jerold Yee, 39, said they were trying to make a family tradition out of turkey trots. They ran one in Oyster Bay last year, said Ip, of Douglaston, Queens, and they wanted to get their kids involved this year for the fun run.

"We came to run," shouted Matthan Yee, 8, who lives with his father, Jerold, in Baltimore.

"It's become a tradition," Ip said. "They live out of state now, and we know at least we'll see each other on Thanksgiving morning."