Turkey Trotters run to help others
Cousins Slate, Klein and Grace Fragoso run along the trail surrounding the Travers-Great Northern park complex during Thursday's Turkey Trot fun run. The annual event benefits the Bonner Community Food Bank.
(Photo by CAROLINE LOBSINGER)
Members of the Keseloff family — Dan, Kat, Anya and Lisa — brought their Thanksgiving spirit to the annual Turkey Trot fun run on Thursday.
Members of the Sandpoint High School cross-country team leads the pack as runners take off at the start of Thursday's Turkey Trot fun run.
A pair of runners run along the trail surrounding the Travers-Great Northern park complex during Thursday's Turkey Trot fun run. The annual event benefits the Bonner Community Food Bank.
A Bonner County residents smiles as she walks forward to receive her pie after being selected as having the best costume during Thursday's annual Turkey Trot fun run.
A runner gives the thumbs-up sign as she take part in the annual Turkey Trot fun run on Thursday.
Members of the Keseloff family — Dan, Lisa, Anya and Kat — take part in the annual Turkey Trot fun run.
A Turkey Trot participant signs to take part in the annual event. Held on Thanksgiving Day, the event benefits the Bonner Community Food Bank.
Turkey Trot participants smile for the camera as they take part in the annual event.
Turkey Trot participants walk along the pathway in Travers-Great Northern park complex.
Turkey Trot participants walk along a path in the Great Northern-Travers park complex. The annual event benefits the Bonner Community Food Bank.
Turkey Trot participants walk along the pathway in the annual event, traditionally held on Thanksgiving Day as a benefit for the Bonner Community Food Bank.
Turkey Trot participants kicked off their Thanksgiving Day by taking part in the benefit for the Bonner Community Food Bank.
A pair of Turkey Trot participants get into the spirit as they kicked off their Thanksgiving Day by taking part in the benefit for the Bonner Community Food Bank.
Turkey Trot participants kicked off their Thanksgiving Day by taking part in the benefit for the Bonner Community Food Bank.
A runner gives the thumbs-up sign as she take part in the annual Turkey Trot fun run on Thursday.
They came for a shot at the pie.
However, light-hearted fun aside, the Keseloff family — Dan, Kat, Anya, and Lisa — said taking part in the community's annual Turkey Trot fun run is a family tradition that blends fun and helping others.
The quartet was among several hundred area residents who turned out for the annual event. After awarding the pie to a resident dressed in an inflatable sloth costume, Jason Wiley, Sandpoint Recreation and Parks Services superintendent, thanked everyone for turning out to help the food bank.
"Everyone comes out and has fun," Wiley said later. "It's a light-hearted fun, fun event. We get to raise food for the food bank during the time when they need food. You can get dressed up in costumes. Everybody's smiling; everybody's happy."
Members of the Keseloff family, who have taken part in the run for at least 10 years, said they love the fun of the event and seeing friends — as well as their semi-serious attempt to bring home dessert.
"This was our attempt to get in the running for the pie," Lisa Keseloff joked of the family's hand-painted sandwich boards combining to show a complete Thanksgiving dinner — turkey, pie, mashed potatoes, and cranberry sauce.
"This is the first time we've dressed up," Kat Keseloff said, followed quickly by her sister, Anya, who added, "We're feeling fully festive this year."
While joking about their attempts to win a pie, the family said their true reason for taking part in the fun run, held to garner both food and monetary donations for the Bonner Community Food Bank, was Thanksgiving cheer.
"It's just a fun thing to do," Lisa Keseloff said. "We love to do it every year and start the day off right, thinking about others, having fun, and enjoying the fresh air. It's fun to see people excited on Thanksgiving, seeing people you know … It's just a fun time."
While most of the family's favorite foods were represented, a few of the favorites didn't make the list. Both the green bean casserole and rolls proved too abstract when put to paper.
"There was some question of what they looked like," Dan Keseloff said.
Like the Keseloff family, cousins Grace, Slate, and Klein Fragoso count the Turkey Trot run as a cherished family tradition.
They estimate they've done the run since almost the beginning, when they were small and pushed in strollers or running alongside one of their parents.
"We're just three cousins trying to dress alike," Grace Fragoso joked before adding, more seriously, that the trio loves to run and enjoys the healthy start to Thanksgiving.
"We want to have a healthy morning so that we can really indulge later," she said.
"We run so we can eat all of our calories later," Klein said.
"Yeah, because we made a bunch of pies," Grace added.
Not only do they get a healthy start to the morning, the trio said the fun run allows them to help out a great cause at the same time.
"The combination of exercise, canned food drives," she said as cousin Klein added, "and a whole lot of fun" before continuing without seamlessly, "to start your morning out right."
Dressed in matching Grinch sweaters and red-and-black flannel pajama pants, the trio joked their outfits were Walmart-inspired. After seeing the Grinch sweaters, they next found the flannel and Grinch-wrapped Hershey's kisses they handed out to others who came out for the fun run.
"We thought the Grinch would be funny, and we wanted to pair it off with the candy bags so we could pass out some candy to people while they run," Grace said.
Saying they were the Grinch in disguise — noting each wore a different Christmas-themed cowboy hat — the trio said they love being a part of events like Turkey Trot.
"Being part of such a tight-knit community, I love that," Grace said. "Every time I come to Sandpoint, there's something cool going on … It's just a very family-friendly community and very community oriented. I think for me, that's just a positive, cool, fun experience I don't get to see in big cities."
Klein said he and brother Slate both competed on the Sandpoint High School cross-country team, adding they both enjoy running and spending time with friends and family.
Taking part in the Turkey Trot run allows them to do both. "It's just super fun to do," he added.
The trio said they planned to run at least a 5K, and when they learned the event was a name-your-own distance event, they said they might have to run more than that.
"We're going to run, Forest, run," Grace quipped.
Members of the Keseloff family — Dan, Kat, Anya and Lisa — brought their Thanksgiving spirit to the annual Turkey Trot fun run on Thursday.
Members of the Sandpoint High School cross-country team leads the pack as runners take off at the start of Thursday's Turkey Trot fun run.
A pair of runners run along the trail surrounding the Travers-Great Northern park complex during Thursday's Turkey Trot fun run. The annual event benefits the Bonner Community Food Bank.
A Bonner County residents smiles as she walks forward to receive her pie after being selected as having the best costume during Thursday's annual Turkey Trot fun run.
A runner gives the thumbs-up sign as she take part in the annual Turkey Trot fun run on Thursday.
Members of the Keseloff family — Dan, Lisa, Anya and Kat — take part in the annual Turkey Trot fun run.
A Turkey Trot participant signs to take part in the annual event. Held on Thanksgiving Day, the event benefits the Bonner Community Food Bank.
Turkey Trot participants smile for the camera as they take part in the annual event.
Turkey Trot participants walk along the pathway in Travers-Great Northern park complex.
Turkey Trot participants walk along a path in the Great Northern-Travers park complex. The annual event benefits the Bonner Community Food Bank.
Turkey Trot participants walk along the pathway in the annual event, traditionally held on Thanksgiving Day as a benefit for the Bonner Community Food Bank.
Turkey Trot participants kicked off their Thanksgiving Day by taking part in the benefit for the Bonner Community Food Bank.
A pair of Turkey Trot participants get into the spirit as they kicked off their Thanksgiving Day by taking part in the benefit for the Bonner Community Food Bank.
Turkey Trot participants kicked off their Thanksgiving Day by taking part in the benefit for the Bonner Community Food Bank.