The Pleasanton North Rotary club held their 10th annual Turkey Burn at the Ken Mercer Sports Park in the morning to kick off Thanksgiving Day. The 10K race started at 9:00am and the 5K race started at 9:15am. Many families showed up bright and early with their furry companions to look at different sponsor booths.
The Pleasanton North Rotary Club
This is the 10th year the Pleasanton North Rotary club is organizing this event with sponsors ranging from The Valley Humane Society and Orangetheory Fitness. This branch of the club juggles with many different service events that focus specifically on the community of Pleasanton.
“Pleasanton North Rotary is a service organization based in Pleasanton. We meet on Fridays and talk about upcoming service projects where there are opportunities to have community service projects, volunteer projects, and sometimes collection drives. Locally here in our community, we also sponsor youth projects for high school students,” said club member Darcy Decoit.
The Rotary Club has been a big supporter of many non-profit organizations, giving donations and grants alike. This year’s Turkey Burn has raised a surplus of money due to the significant number of participants.
“The Turkey Burn is all volunteer based. And this year we got a really good turnout. We have over 3000 people participating this year, which is our biggest turnout, so far, with it being our tenth Turkey Burn” said Decoit.
Enjoying the Outdoors
This run focuses on getting outdoors away from screens and connecting with different people from the community. People bonded over funny turkey costumes, cute dogs with bandannas provided by the Valley Humane Society, and warm cups of hot chocolate.
(Emma Luey)
“My wife works for Elation Real Estate and so they’re one of the sponsors which is why I’m participating! I really like just getting outdoors, exercising, and doing the run. It’s really a good event with rotary getting recognized,” said participant Merlin Newton.
Although the morning was chilly, the atmosphere around the park was electric with energized people looking to have fun. Participants were able to decorate and write what they were thankful for on their running bibs. Participants also dressed up in their best turkey outfit.
“Events like these are just so much fun. Everybody dresses up in costumes and everybody is smiling. I really like how it’s a fun event for the whole family. You see people here with little kids and dogs and everybody of all ages, so it’s really cool to see people enjoying themselves and everybody gets to participate” said participant Danielle Perri.
