By Emmy Benton, News Editor
Turkey trots are a Thanksgiving Day tradition across the country, and the Outer Banks is no exception.
The ADVICE 5K Turkey Trot in Duck is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, and race director Nancy Caviness is thrilled to achieve this.
“It is a big deal,” Caviness said. “A lot of races don’t make it this long, and to have something that makes it to 25 years is a huge milestone.”
Turkey trots, which usually consist of about 3.1 miles or longer, account for the biggest day of running in the United States. When Caviness moved to the Outer Banks and found that the area was lacking in running events, she and her best friend, Donna Black, decided to start their own race.
“The very first Turkey Trot was in 1996 and it was very successful by all accounts and we just kept it going,” Caviness said.
Now, 25 years later, it’s still a beloved part of many people’s Thanksgivings.
“It really holds a very special place in people’s hearts,” Caviness said. “There’s a lot of young people who are now not so young anymore, this is part of their Thanksgiving. They don’t know anything but participating in this race on Thanksgiving Day.”
Chris Carroll, owner of Sweater Box Confections in Nags Head, shares this sentiment. Carroll has been a sponsor of the event the past four years and is tasked with baking the pies for the race, so she has a first-hand account of the sense of community that the race brings.
“There’s a lot of good energy and people are happy,” Carroll said. “They’re together, and I’m sure some of those families just see each other at the Turkey Trot, so they’ve gotten to know each other through the years.”
Duck Mayor Don Kingston has enjoyed participating in the Turkey Trot through the years.
“It has become a Thanksgiving tradition for our family since we built our house in 2000,” Kingston said. “Our family participates in and enjoys the community gathering early in the morning.”
The event, which was canceled last year due to COVID-19, benefits the community by placing its net proceeds in a permanent charitable endowment fund that is managed by the Outer Banks Community Foundation. The endowment was established to improve the overall health of the Outer Banks community by providing grants to local nonprofits that work to do so. Since the 25th anniversary is this year, Caviness plans to raise $25,000 – an intimidating but not impossible goal.
Kingston is proud of what the endowment has accomplished within the community.
“Our personal appreciation goes out to Nancy Caviness and Donna Black, along with the many volunteers and sponsors,” Kingston said. “They are responsible for the continued success of this event and the growth of its charitable endowment with the Outer Banks Community Foundation.”
Along with fundraising to support the endowment, Caviness tries to help local businesses by sourcing her materials locally or in other parts of North Carolina.
“It’s not only raising money that helps the local community, but it’s also trying to keep the dollars in the community as opposed to trying to find a bargain somewhere else,” Caviness said. “The people who produce everything for us, this is an opportunity for them, too. We try really hard to have it help the community in all different ways.”
Carroll appreciates what the grants are doing in the community, and thinks they support many great programs.
“It’s trying to keep us healthy in some fashion,” Carroll said. “And it’s specifically for our community where it makes an impact that we can see, whether it’s within Dare County or the surrounding counties.”
To thank the community for its support, Caviness came up with the idea of a Community Concert on the Town of Duck Green that is free and open to the public, scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 24, from 1 to 5 p.m.
“It’s going to coincide with our packet pick-up,” Caviness said. “Anybody that wants to attend that event, it’s kind of our race’s thank you to the community for letting us do the event for 25 years.”
Along with most every event happening amid the pandemic, Caviness has had to make some alterations to ensure the safety of the 650 participants, whose ages range from 2 to 80 years old. This includes changes to packet pick-up and the post-race party, staggered start times, and adding a virtual option.
The virtual option was made so that people who chose not to travel to Duck this year, or were unable to participate because of COVID, didn’t feel left out. The virtual race also acts as a back-up plan, so the race could still happen even if case numbers rose.
“A logistical reason of having the virtual option is that if things were really to go terribly, terribly bad, and we had to cancel because of COVID, that the entire event would go to virtual because there’s no going back now,” Caviness said.
For packet pick-up, the packets will be prepared ahead of time so participants won’t have to interact with as many volunteers. Start times will be staggered based on different paces that people can identify as, and the end of the race will change to prevent a mass gathering. After people cross the finish line, the post-race party will look a little different, too.
“We’re going to have a bag with their finisher’s gift and all the goodies already wrapped up for them,” Caviness said. “So then they can just take their bag and find their family, and stay in that area safely and wait for all the prizes to be drawn.”
Caviness hopes people enjoy the 25th anniversary race, even with the changes that had to be made, and she’s excited for people to come together once again to celebrate Thanksgiving.
“I have so much gratitude for everyone that makes it possible,” Caviness said. “I have great sponsors, the town is always so welcoming to let us do this, and all the people that participate in it. All these families that do it year after year, it’s wonderful. There’s just nothing not to love about it. I’m a very, very lucky race director.”
Junior Emmy Benton can be reached at 23bentonem58@daretolearn.org.
