RUN Wenatchee

WENATCHEE — The annual Turkey on the Run road race will have a new location this Thanksgiving Day: Walla Walla Point Park and the Apple Capital Loop Trail.

For the past 10 years, Turkey on the Run’s 5K, 12K and kids races have been staged from Wenatchee’s Rotary Park along Western Avenue. The run attracts so many participants — around 1,000 each of the past few years — that organizing group RunWenatchee has been required to hire a traffic control company to keep runners and walkers safe on Western Avenue. And this year, no such companies are available.

“It’s really hard to get traffic control on holidays. We’ve been lucky the past couple years,” said Joel Rhyner, RunWenatchee race director. “Rotary Park is a great venue. We just could not guarantee a safe route there.”

Another benefit in moving the race to Walla Walla Point Park on Nov. 28 is there should be plenty of parking.

Everything else about Turkey on the Run remains the same. The kids race will be held at 8:45 a.m. and the 5K and 12K will start at 9 a.m. The event is being chip timed by Buddu Racing.

Rhyner said the routes on the Apple Capital Loop Trail have yet to be finalized. People should check RunWenatchee’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/RunWenatchee/ and its website at www.runwenatchee.com for details in coming days. Registration is available at www.runwenatchee.com/event/turkey-on-the-run-12k-and-5k/.

Turkey on Run was first held by RunWenatchee on Thanksgiving Day in 2009. It has grown to become Wenatchee’s largest road running event.

Proceeds benefit the Women’s Resource Center of NCW. RunWenatchee is asking participants to bring non-perishable food to Walla Walla Point Park before the race’s start as part of a holiday food drive for the Women’s Resource Center.