News release
Early Thanksgiving morning, the Santa Clarita Runners Club set off on its annual Turkey Trot. More than 75 participants came out to Heritage Park to run the course, socialize with friends and celebrate Thanksgiving with baked goodies and coffee.
In addition to sharing good company and the joy of an early morning run, the Turkey Trot is the club’s annual fundraising event for the SCV Food Pantry, which works to alleviate hunger in the community. Dozens of bags of food were collected for this event and will be distributed to those in need.
Founded in 1980, Santa Clarita Runners is a nonprofit organization of more than 200 members that welcomes runners of all abilities and is committed to promoting fitness for people of all ages. The club offers four different weekly workouts, including marathon training, and boasts a wide range of members from novice competitors to elite runners and even world record holders. At whatever level, runners receive coaching tips, inspiration and support from club mentors.
Santa Clarita Runners Club plays a pivotal role in organizing the annual Santa Clarita Marathon by partnering with the city for course layout, measurement and certification as well as providing support staff.
As important as running, training and socializing are to the club, SCRunners also believes in giving back to the community. The club hosts several public events to benefit local charities including its largest and oldest event, the annual Independence Day Run, which supports Santa Clarita high school cross country teams. The 2019 Leap-a-thon raised money for Peyton’s Project, which benefits Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The holiday Jingle Bell Jog contributes to a local charity each year.
The club also participates in other community events such as the Be the Light 5K which supports youth in recovery, the city’s annual trail cleanup day, and the USPS food drive. SCR welcomes the opportunity to collaborate with any local organizations to provide race support for their fundraisers.
Club President Melanie Cotterell said, “We encourage all members of the community to get outside and enjoy the wonderful trail system within our city. If you’d like to meet some new people, do a little running and support your community, come and join the SCRunners. We’d love to have you.”
For more information about Santa Clarita Runners Club workouts, races or membership, visit www.scrunners.club.
