Donner Lake Turkey Trot

The 35th Annual Donner Lake Turkey Trot

EVENT CANCELED!

Due to Town of Truckee’s safety concerns of slippery roads

Dear Editor,

An absolutely blue bird day for the Turkey Trot was clouded by the fact that the Town of Truckee shut down the event. They were concerned that it may be too icy and dangerous for the runners. For 34 years it has been a Truckee tradition to run around Donner Lake in November in any weather condition with turkeys and pumpkin pies for prizes at the end.

This was Jim Meskimen’s 33rd year in a row to run the race and he said he has done it in the rain, the fog and the snow. Another long time local resident had saved the list of the runners from 1978, proud of his 5th place finish, I’m sure . He said that year was a full on blizzard, and by the time they finished, there was 6 inches of snow on the ground. Personally, most every year I have run the Turkey Trot, there has been ice and snow on the course, just part of the run we all expect.

In the past fewyears, the Turkey Trot has been organized by the Auburn Ski Club (ASC) as a fundraiser for their wonderful kids’ ski programs. The run around Donner Lake is 7 miles and they also have a fun 1 mile race for younger kids called the Mashed Potato Mile. Not only is it a fun race and great benefit, but it can be a healthy positive experience for the whole family.

The Town of Truckee is now requiring permits for events like this. ASC’s application was declined because the Truckee Police Department saw some ice and snow on the course and thought it would be too dangerous. They made ASC cancel the race it 3 days before the event.

Is this how we want our town to look out for and protect us? Is this the precedent we want set for this athletic community? Is the Donner Lake swim safe if the water is not up to a certain temperature or thewind is creating dangerous white caps? Is the Donner Lake Triathlon safe if there might be some gravel on the road, or a bike might hit a pine cone?

Despite the fact that ASC could not host this event, over 20 people still showed up on Sunday to run around the lake as planned, and it happened to be a gorgeous day to do it. ASC staff were there to inform runners of the cancellation & served the Pumpkin pie they had bought for he race. One disappointed runner bought signs that said “The Turkey Has Been Plucked by TPD”. One woman said she had been training for this all fall, so she was going to run no matter what; it was just very disappointing that ASC could not benefit. In a time when so many programs in the area are struggling, it is sad to see a fun event not able to raise money because the Town of Truckee stopped it after so many years. I thought the Town was created to support the community, not control it.

I would love to see the Truckee tradition of the Donner Lake Turkey trot able to continue with the motto of rain, snow or shine. I’ll be there, no matter what, to enjoy a run around our beautiful lake.

Still trotting along,

Sonja Harris

2011 Turkey Trot self timed runners
	Name	sex	Time
1	Sam Zabell	M	51:56.3
2	John McCormick	M	1:05:59
3	Mishele McCormick	M	1:05:59
4	Jessica Lebedeff	F	1:06:00
5	Mike Lebedeff	M	1:06:00
6	Sonja Harris	F	1:07:00
7	Sharmisa Martin	F	1:07:00
8	Jody Burrill	F	1:07:00
9	Peter Osgood	M	1:07:00
10	Kyla Burrill	F	1:08:00
11	Jessica Lebedeff	F	1:08:00
12	Lisa Robertson	F	1:35:00

Make room for all those pumpkin pies and treats in the season ahead in 2012!

Starting an finishing at West-End beach – Donner Lake.

9:30am – Walkers start
10am – Kids “Mashed potato Mile” race starts. Medals for all kids in the mile
10:30am – 7 mile race starts
Well behaved dogs on a leash welcome

Entry fees are kept low at just $15 for adults, $10 for 18 & under, $5 for mashed potato mile if you pre register

$25 for adults, $20 for 18 & under, $10 for mashed potato mile if you wait till race morning.

The idea of a fun race around Donner Lake was hatched back in 1976 by a small group of enthusiastic runners who wanted to make room for all the turkey and pies they were going to be eating in the weeks ahead.

34 years later the Donner Lake Turkey Trot is a popular event attracting 200 runners from Reno, Sacramento & The Bay Area as well as many locals who enjoy the excuse to support a good cause & get out for a morning run/walk

Auburn Ski Club Junior Nordic Team organizes the race as a fundraiser and a way to get ready for the ski season.

The history of the event has always been to be fun and funky and happens regardless of the weather. The event has happened with snowstorms, below freezing temperatures, ice, rain and beautiful sunny days.

Auburn Ski Club has upgraded the timing of the event from the self timing days, but still tries to keep the spirit of fun and families.