Turkey Trot gobbling good time
By David Cobb | (sports@thedailytimes.com)
More than 1,000 children and adults ran in the Clayton Homes Turkey Trot for Education 5K Sunday but there was only one overall winner in the race though the students in Blount County schools came out ahead in the event supporting the Blount County Education Foundation.
Alan Horton, a 1998 graduate of William Blount High School, won the race with a time of 16:31.
“I knew the course pretty well because I ran it last year. It was very well marked, and it was nice to see the William Blount cheerleaders out there since I used to go William Blount cheering people on. I went out kind of hard and just tried to hold on.”
The former Governor runner placed second in the race in 2011 and said it was nice to come out on top this year.
“You never know who shows up on any given day,” Horton said. “But fortunately I was able to win today.”
Horton has noticed a change in the race’s atmosphere during his time participating in the event.
“It looks like it’s getting stronger every year,” Horton said. “It’s really good to see, since it goes for a good cause. And it’s always good to run in your hometown. I live in Knoxville but it’s always nice to come over to Maryville run in races.”
Maryville College football coach Mike Rader attended the event in support of that cause as he cheered on his wife Lindsey who teaches physical education at Carpenters Elementary School.
“It was neat to see all these kids out here running,” Rader said. “And it was really fun to see that they enjoy running and being out here.”
Sarah Martin is a Wellness Specialist for Clayton Homes, who coordinated this year’s race and handed out awards to Horton and the others participants that placed in their respective divisions.
“I’m so excited about how the event turned out,” Martin said. “We had perfect weather. I couldn’t have asked for better weather. I think that everybody had a great time, no major issues. So I’m really, really pleased with how it turned out.
“This might be our last beautiful day before it starts getting real cold. So I was very pleased.”
While a separate entity from the Blount County school system, the BCEF (Blount County Education Foundation) works closely with teachers, principals and central administration to understand and address the most pressing, unmet needs of the schools. The BCEF acts as a bridge between school needs and community resources by seeking both financial support and donated services from generous individuals and corporations.
