Written by Nicholas Olivera\Staff Writer
The Wellness and Recreation Center is teaming with the Healthy Living Clinic to bring the annual Turkey Trot to the Biscayne Bay Campus for its 28th consecutive year.
The event features a two-mile walk and a three-mile run with separate divisions for men and women in both the runner and walker competitions. The first five participants from each division who finish the course will be awarded with a Thanksgiving turkey.
“This is our opportunity to have our students come out for something that’s not only recreational but also for a good cause,” said Jonathan Torrey, recreation specialist at the Biscayne Bay Wellness Center.
“There are unprivileged students on this campus who can’t afford to feed themselves, so this event is sort of our way to give them a helping hand,” said Torrey, coordinator of the Turkey Trot.
Students and faculty who participate in the event will be required to bring one canned meat, vegetable and fruit donation. All donations collected from the event are contributed to the FIU food pantry, which provides food to less fortunate students who do not have the funds to feed themselves.
“It’s a pretty cool way for the University to raise food for Thanksgiving,” said Stephanie Guzman, a senior broadcast media major. “A marathon can really get people excited and willing to participate for a cause.”
Beginning at Panther Plaza, the course will take participants passed the Hospitality Management Building to the walkway that runs alongside the Biscayne Bay. Walkers will double back once they reach the entrance of FIU’s nature preserve, also known as Arch Creek Environmental Preserve, to the finish line, which will be at Panther Plaza.
Runners are to continue until the end of the nature preserve and will double back to the finish line, also at Panther Plaza.
“People like to go to events where they could get active,” said Javier Diaz, a junior marine biology major.
“I personally think marathons are effective because you have people doing something for a good cause and at the same time they’re doing something they love, such as running,” said Diaz.
In addition to the physical component of the event, vendors such as L.A. Nutrition and Nuvo will be at the event, but Torrey insists that it will be a more rewarding experience for participants to give rather than receive.
“Our need for collecting food donations really ties in with the Thanksgiving holiday so we [the Wellness Center and the Healthy Living Clinic] have gotten together to have something to end our Thanksgiving holiday here at the University,” said Torrey.
“But it will also be a chance for students as well as the rest of the FIU community to give,” he said.
The Turkey Trot will be held Wednesday, Nov. 25 at BBC’s Panther Plaza. Walkers will start at 3 p.m. and runners at 4 p.m. For more information, students can visit active.com and use the key words: FIU Turkey Trot.
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