For the estimated 8,000 runners, joggers, walkers and strollers who took part in the 39th Annual Dan Gibbons Turkey Trot, it was a fun and traditional way to start Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 24) in Elmhurst.
But as founder Dan Gibbons reminded participants before the 9 a.m. start, it was also a way to help feed and support an estimated 60,000 hungry and food-insecure people in and around DuPage County, 20,000 of whom he said are children. The event has raised an estimated total of nearly $4 million over its 39-year run.
Hunger can be a problem below the radar in the apparent prosperity of DuPage County. But the problem is real, as Gibbons noted in a recent conversation with Pioneer Press.
“The need is just unbelievable,” Gibbons said recently. “Inflation is putting needs (for food assistance) through the roof.”
All those participants and the event’s many sponsors will help to fund about $162,000 in donations this year to local food banks and other social service organizations, according to Gibbons. Those include Loaves and Fishes Community Services, West Suburban Community Pantry, People’s Resource Center, United Community Concerns Association, Catholic Charities — DuPage County, DuPage PADS, Elmhurst Walk-In Assistance Network and the Elmhurst-Yorkfield Food Pantry.
Gibbons told the crowd before the start of the 3.1 mile — 5k — course around central Elmhurst that Thursday’s event included participants from 36 states and even a registrant from Germany.
On a mild if overcast day, with temperatures in the forties, pre-start festivities included traditional elements including a medley of songs by the Men of Spirito and a stirring rendition of The Star-Spangled Banner by Jim Cornelison, who sings the national anthem at the start of Chicago Blackhawks home games.
At the 9 a.m. start loudspeakers blasted out a recording of Louis Armstrong singing “What a Wonderful World” as the four vintage aircraft of the Lima Lima Flight Team roared over the starting line.
Kevin Havel of Elmhurst, running in the event for the first time, was the first man to finish, with a time of 15 minutes, 15 seconds, slightly faster than last year’s winning time of 15:38. Havel is a seasoned marathon runner.
The first woman to cross the finish line was Julia Ordzowialy [cqgray] with a time of 18 minutes 31 seconds. Ordzowialy, who moved to Elmhurst during the pandemic, said this was her first time running the event. Like Havel, she is a seasoned runner who has place well in marathons in both the U.S. and Europe.
Her time was more than a minute faster than last year’s first place women, a group of four York girls cross country teammates, who this year finished a bit behind Ordzowialy.
2022 39th Dan Gibbons Turkey Trot by the numbers:
Registered participants: 8,000 (estimated)
Course length: 5 kilometers (3.1 miles)
Years event has been taking place: 39
First place finisher, men: Kevin Havel, who finished in 15:15
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First place finisher, women: Julia Ordzowialy, finishing in 18:31
Graydon Megan is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Here are more pictures from the Dan Gibbons Turkey Trot:
