The annual Westborough Turkey Trot is a five kilometer run that laps around Fales Elementary School. This fascinating run has been a part of the Westborough community for 11 years! This event not only raises money for charity, but also serves multiple purposes beside raising money. It promotes fitness and unites the community of Westborough. Many have run the race, like Tucker Viox, who has run it 5 times, showing true passion for running. Many have run the race to bond with the community and just have fun, like Derin Uysal and Ayan Joshi, while others are running for the purpose of raising money, like Sebastian Moskal. And some have run it this year for the first time. Either way, this experience has inspired people to run more often. The run has motivated over 600 people annually to run it, and improve their scores from prior events. Anyone can participate in this race, even parents with children can run. You can even push a stroller!
The race had a friendly, but competitive, vibe from the start—maybe intimidating for first timers. Many anticipated doing well. But some came short of their goals as they were hit with a barrage of uphills that challenged participants from the start. Runners were plagued with steep uphills until Fales, which was around mile 2. They got a chance to cool down as they were met by a downhill with a water station that came up clutch. The rest of the race was not as demanding as the first half, since it consisted mostly of downhills. But boy, was it an intense finish! Everybody gave everything they had left in the tank for the last tenth of a mile, which was the back entrance of the high school to near the front entrance.
When finished with the race, participants were met with hot cocoa and other hard-earned treats provided by friendly and willing volunteers.
To summarize, the Turkey Trot was a huge success on many levels. It served as a race and a fundraiser that united the community, and also promoted fitness and well being. Even though it was a fundraiser, it was still a competitive race and everybody was trying to finish high out of the over 600 participants!
