The 8th annual Ridgefield Public Schools Foundation Turkey Trot. presented by Opsahl Dawson, Cowlitz Indian Tribe, Columbia Credit Union, and Clark County Roof Cleaning, takes place on a scenic route through Ridgefield, traveling through Abrams Park and along Lake River. It's a 5K family friendly run/walk event that raises funds to help the Foundation's efforts to provide scholarships and grant opportunities to students, teachers, and staff. Last year's event had approximately 1,000 participants, and we hope to grow our event even more this year as we support Ridgefield schools and their students.

In-person registration will be available on Wednesday (Nov. 27) and Thursday morning (Nov. 28).

T-SHIRTS AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE:

For any participants who do not meet the T-shirt registration deadline of Nov. 14th at 10 pm,

a limited number of T-shirts will be available for purchase at packet pick-up/in-person registration at a cost of $5 each.

DRUMSTICK DASH:

Once again our Turkey Trot will feature a Drumstick Dash, a short run for our youngest participants ages 5 and under. We will make an announcement at 8:40 am for any children interested in participating to report to the starting line. The Drumstick Dash will begin at 8:45 am.

5K FUN RUN/WALK:

Our main event, the 5K run/walk, will get started at 9 am. Those who are planning to run should position themselves at the front of the crowd, closest to the starting line. Walkers, please make way for runners who are trying to move to the front. There is no official timer for our fun run/walk event, so those interested in knowing their finish times should plan to use their own watches to time themselves. For safety, please keep in mind that at certain points on the route you may be asked to stop for vehicle traffic (vehicles have the right of way during the Turkey Trot) so finish times could be impacted.

5K ROUTE:

The course begins on 5th Ave. at Union Ridge Elementary and then heads down to Abrams Park and continues northeast along the trail bordering Gee Creek. From there the route takes participants up Heron Drive to Main Ave. It then continues south to the corner of Main & Pioneer and takes participants down to the Ridgefield waterfront via the railroad overpass. Participants will follow the course along Lake River and turn around near the south end of Carty Lake. The course then continues in reverse, back up to the corner of Main & Pioneer, where participants will head north for one block before heading east up Simons St. to finish back at Union Ridge Elementary.

Roads remain open throughout the event. Please stay to the right on roads and use sidewalks whenever possible. Once again, this is a family friendly fun run/walk event. Participants may be subject to brief waits for vehicle traffic. Since roads remain open, vehicle traffic does have the right away.

BRING ITEMS FOR THE RIDGEFIELD FAMILY RESOURCE CENTER:

The Ridgefield Family Resource Center is seeking non-perishable foods (especially cereal, rice, pasta sauce, canned fruit, canned meat, and canned pasta meals) as well as new socks and stretchy knit gloves. For each item (non-perishable food items, pairs of socks, and pairs of gloves)

brought to packet pick-up/in-person registration on Wednesday or Thursday morning, you

will receive one ticket for entry into a prize drawing for $100 of local restaurant gift cards.

EVENT PARKING:

Parking will be available at Union Ridge Elementary, the RACC, and the Ridgefield Church of the Nazarene. Street parking throughout downtown Ridgefield is also an option for participants.

Please visit www.ridgefieldpsf.org/turkey-trot for additional info and course map.