The annual tradition of sharing Thanksgiving with loved ones while feasting on a delicious meal and reflecting on all that is to be grateful for is how many celebrate the fourth Thursday in November.
Many also partake in early morning calorie-burning events to help minimize the indulgence that follows later in the day.
However, with the COVID-19 pandemic behind the transition of many sports into virtual events for most of 2020, you might be wondering about popular races traditionally set for Thanksgiving morning.
No need to fret! This year, Big Island Running Company and Kiser Motorcycles team up to present the BIRC Wobble Gobble/Kiser Motorcycles Triptophan Turkey Trot Virtual Run on the Walua Trailhead off of Lako Street.
“Every year we always do the Wobble Gobble on Walua Road on Thanksgiving morning, but we can’t really do that safely this year,” said Melissa Braswell who co-owns Big Island Running Company with husband, Jason Braswell. “So, we were trying to come up with other options and we were interested in still finding a way to collect food for the Hawaii Island Food Basket and giving back to the community.”
Traditionally, both collect non-perishable food items for the Hawaii Island Food Bank and both events are free for the community.
“That has always been one of the biggest takeaways from that event,” Braswell said. “It’s free but people still bring canned goods and we really enjoy being able to help donate that to the community and we didn’t want to lose that this year.”
Braswell said the virtual running events will begin on Nov. 20 and run through Dec. 1. Participants may choose among any of the Wobble Gobble distances which are 1-mile, 3.5-mile and 6.4-mile. In addition, Kiser Motorcycles Triptophan Turkey Day Triathlon that traditionally features a 1/3-mile swim, 15-mile bike, and 2-mile run, will be held as a special Triptophan 2-mile Turkey Trot run this year. All distances will begin on the Walua Trail off of Lako Street.
While real tracking via the Strava app is not required, Braswell said, “It can be done a couple of ways like taking a photo and posting to social media. But we know that some of our customers don’t really engage on social media so they can come to the store and just show us their watch, or a screenshot of a picture they took, but a lot of it will be the honor system.”
Braswell added participants can also post photos on their Facebook event site and tag Big Island Running Company or Kiser Motorcycles by using @runbig.co, @kisermotorcycles, and @triptophanturkeydaytri.
“There is no time component or awards for finishing because it would be impossible to confirm,” Braswell added. “And people can do any of the distances, it’s not limited to just one event. Whether they go on four separate days or do all four distances in one day, they will still be entered into the drawing for each distance and be eligible for special prizes.”
Once participants complete their distance(s), canned goods and non-perishable food items may be dropped off at either Big Island Running Company or Kiser Motorcycles store locations.
“We are disappointed that we all can’t gather on Thanksgiving morning like usual,” Braswell said. “But we are hopeful that people will still take this opportunity to get out, get active, get together with their families to do something like this and also we are hopeful that people will continue to keep the food basket and the less fortunate in our community in mind and contribute that way.”
For more information about the BIRC Wobble Gobble/Kiser Motorcycles Triptophan Turkey Trot Virtual Run, email melissa@bigislandrunningcompany.com.
