The 50th Annual Mile High United Way Turkey Trot

Yesterday morning was the 50th annual Mile High United Way Turkey Trot, which took place in Denver's Washington Park. I have lived in Denver for over 42 years, and this is the first time I have attended this event, even though the starting line is a mere 15 minute walk from my condo. I did not do any running, but simply watched from the sidelines. And, I must say, it was a lot of fun. For some reason, I always thought this event was just one run that started very early in the morning, but in fact there are 4 "waves" of runners, beginning at 9:00 A.M. I arrived at the starting line in time for the 2nd wave, as seen in the photograph on the left, which consisted of 3,000 runners (attendance averages 9,000 a year, and judging by the traffic all around Washington Park, I can believe it).

The crowd was in a great mood, and a lot of the runners were wearing turkey suits, turkey caps, tutus (beats me), and other assorted outfits. As I have mentioned many times before on this blog, people in Denver just love dressing up in costumes, although this is the first time I realized they did it on Thanksgiving, too. Many people were also running with their dogs, and pushing baby carriages. And a lot of people were just walking the route, which is what I would have done if I had wanted to take part and pay the 50-$55 registration fee. And I must say, if an average of 9,000 people attend the Turkey Trot annually, this must be a huge fundraiser for Mile High United Way. Which, of course, is a very good thing.

At the finish line, Great Divide Brewing Company had set up a beer garden, which was doing a booming business, even if it wasn't even 10:00 in the morning yet. It reminds me of an old beer commercial from back in the day: "Pointer Beer - Not Just For Breakfast Anymore." There were food booths around, too, as seen in the photograph on the left. I was actually tempted to make the dog in that photo the next Mutt of the Month, but what the hell - he or she added to the general ambiance of the Turkey Trot, and needed to be included here. Dogs, by the way, also had to register for the event, at $10 each. Surprise!