Hot to Trot

By STEVE GALLUZZO | Sports Editor

Rise early Thanksgiving morning and don your favorite fowl garb as you join your neighbors in running, jogging or walking in the ninth annual Pacific Palisades Turkey Trot powered by Exela Technologies.

The holiday 5/10K will take place at Palisades High’s Stadium by the Sea on November 23, beginning at 8:15 a.m. sharp. This year’s edition is expected to attract 2,000 runners and another 1,500 or so spectators in what has grown into a fun family, tradition dating back to 2013.

This year’s event will feature the same 5K and 10K courses that past participants are familiar with. Each runner will receive a t-shirt, a complimentary swag bag and a chip-timed bib with results posted shortly after the race at www.paliturkeytrot.com/results.

The Swarthmore Room in the Caruso Village will be the pick-up spot for registered runners to grab their bib numbers, pins, t-shirts and swag bags in the days leading up to race day. Packet pick-up takes place Monday (Nov. 20), Tuesday (Nov. 21) and Wednesday (Nov.22).

The 5K course traverses the El Medio Bluffs neighborhood while the 10K continues down Temescal Canyon to Will Rogers State Beach and back. Both races start and end at the 50-yard line on the football field. The race is operated by the O’Connell and Houston families, longtime Palisadians, who launched the inaugural race 10 years ago.“We’re beyond excited to be able to keep our healthy tradition of kicking off the holiday season in style here in the Palisades,” race founder David O’Connell said. “The entire goal of this event has been to gather together friends and family to burn some calories in a fun setting before a long weekend of celebrating. The response from the community has been incredible and our signups are far outpacing year’s past. So, we’re looking forward to another fantastic event and praying for our gorgeous Southern California weather.”

Returning sponsors include Exela Technologies and Palisades Village which will coordinate packet pick-up. The community event will benefit local LA Fire Department Stations 69 and 23 as well as Desita, a charity run by the family of UCLA Interventional Pediatric Cardiologist Dr. Dan Levi.

Temescal Canyon Road will be closed from 6:30 to 10 a.m. Thanksgiving morning. Parking is available off Bowdoin St. and Temescal. Lots are open at Pali High’s upper lot (enter from El Medio/Sunset).

Motorists may not drive south/west on Bowdoin or Temescal any time after 7 a.m.

If you live near campus please walk as less cars equals a better experience for everyone. School gates open at 6:30 a.m. Head directly to the football field and look for the Start Line Arch.

Fast runners should make their way to the front, slower runners or walkers should move to the back of the pack. Dogs are not allowed on the football field or track.

The 5K and 10K will start simultaneously at 8:15. Medals and water will be available at the finish line. Medical personnel will be on site.

Awards for the top three overall finishers in both races and the top three boys and girls in the 9-and- under, 10-12, 13-15 and 16-17 age groups will be presented at 10 a.m.

The 5K registration fee is $60 for adults (price increases to $75 after Nov. 22) and $40 for kids under 18. The 10K fee is $60 for adults (price increases to $75 after Nov. 22) and $55 for kids under 18. Visit the website to volunteer by Nov. 21.

Bibs must be worn in front over any water belt, sweater or other item and placed over the abdomen area or on the lower part of your shorts.

The Palisades Turkey Trot debuted in 2013 and nearly 1,000 runners participated. David Olds, a 52-year-old from Los Angeles who had won the Will Rogers 5K in 1990 and the 10K three years later, won the inaugural race in 16:48. The female winner was lifelong resident Sonaali Pandiri, a 17-year-old senior cross country and track runner at Crossroads High, who was 13th in 20:48.

The next year, 24-year-old Matt Cohen a former distance runner at Haverford College in Pennsylvania, won in 16:50 and Santa Monica High track coach Tania Fischer was the female 5K winner in 18:47.

A 10K route was added for the third edition in 2015, which drew over 1,200 runners—including local residents and then movie star couple Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner. Cameron Posner of Ohio won the 5K in 16:47 and Fischer repeated as the ladies champion in 19:05. Exactly 100 people entered the 10K and the winner in 39:48 was 14-year-old Ryan Younger, a cross country runner at Brentwood School. Jennifer Blair, a 35-year-old software saleswoman from Brentwood, was the initial women’s winner in 45:32.

In 2016, new Calvary Church of Pacific Palisades Pastor Ramin Razavi won the 5K in 16:30 having just moved to the El Medio Bluffs from Boulder, Colorado. Fischer became the event’s first three-time champion after running the 3.1-mile course in 19:10. Tom Comay, a 32-year-old from Santa Monica pulled away from Ken Rideout in the last half mile to take the 10K in 35:43.

In 2017, Fischer became the first female to place first overall in the 5K, winning for the fourth year in a row in 18:54. Nearly 1,300 people ran. The 10K winner was Ken Rideout of the Highlands in 35:02.

After Fischer made it five straight in 2018, Alphabet Streets resident Gwendolen Twist won her hometown race in 2019 in 18:57. Repeating as the male 5K champion was Thomas Fitzpatrick in 16:30.

The coronavirus pandemic forced the cancelation of the event in 2020 and 2021, but it returned last year with 1,600 runners. Will Sheehy set a new 5K course record of 16:27 and Georgia McCorkle (19:07) won the women’s 5K. Charlotte Kane, who lives near the Village, was the women’s 10K winner in 43:41.