Thousands of Front Range residents tied on sneakers Thursday morning to run off the calories they planned to ingest and imbibe later in the day.
Family-friendly Turkey Trot races from Highlands Ranch and Aurora to Boulder and Loveland raised money for community organizations in the region.
Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper cheered about 9,700 runners at the 4-mile Mile High United Way Turkey Trot in Washington Park.
Hickenlooper shook the paw of a pug decked out with turkey feathers and waved to runners calling his name.
“You’re running for a great cause,” he yelled. “Thank you.”
Race organizers said they expected to make about $200,000 for Denver’s Road Home, Hickenlooper’s 10-year plan to eliminate homelessness in the city.
“And thanks for maintaining our status as the fittest city in America,” the mayor called out.
As Sasha Galikeev, 16, rolled over the finish line in a hand bike, her 10-year-old brother hopped on the back of her bike for a quick lift.
Galikeev, from Golden, lost the use of her legs in a 1996 car accident, she said. Last year, she raced in Wash Park’s 1-mile fun run for kids.
“It was too easy,” Galikeev said. “This was more of a challenge.”
About 1,000 people finished the University of Colorado Turkey Trot, a 5K race in Boulder with a half-mile run for kids, organizer Richard Castro said.
“We are still counting, but we made in excess of $5,000,” for Community Food Share, Castro said.
Lori Moser, a Windsor resident, ran the 2K Gobbler Trek in Loveland with daughter Lauren, 1, on her back, trying to keep up with son Jaden, 3.
“He’s a little monster,” she said. “He ran the whole thing.”
The Loveland event, which included a 5K race, raised about $24,0000 for the Kid-Self Pediatric Rehabilitation Program of the McKee Medical Center in Loveland, organizers said.
Jaden, who was born with a cleft lip, has been in speech therapy with the pediatric-rehab program since January.
Moser, a single parent who works for the Windsor School District, said her insurance wouldn’t cover the therapy Jaden needed. The McKee Foundation now covers Jaden’s therapy, she said.
“In January, you could understand about 20 percent of what he said. … Now, he’s more than 80 percent intelligible, and I have no language concerns for him.”
Staff writer Katy Human can be reached at 303-954-1910 or khuman@denverpost.com.
