SGFMC Turkey Trot

SGFMC TURKEY TROT 2024 

Welcome to the 42nd (XLII) ST. GILES FAMILY MASS COMMUNITY TURKEY TROT (SGFMC).

Date – Thanksgiving Day, November 28, 2024.
Race Start Time: 9:30AM 
Start Location: In front of the St. Giles Gym, 1034 Linden, Oak Park, Illinois 

SIGN-UP

Entry fee is $20 plus a small management fee. Tee shirts are $15.00 each. Adult sizes S, M, L and XL. There is a limited number of each size.

The trot is open to a limit of 375 registrations.

Race registration will be open until Tuesday, November 27th @11:59pm. It will be stopped earlier if the 375-entry limit is reached.

Race Day registration will be available if our 375 limit has not been reached. Online ordering for t-shirts will close on Saturday, November 23rd, or earlier if quantities are expended.

PACKET PICK-UP

Pre- ordered t-shirts and race bibs for registered runners/walkers will be available for pick up on Wednesday, November 27, 2024, from 4:00pm to 6:00pm and on race day from 8:00am - 9:00am at the St. Giles Gym, 1034 Linden, Oak Park, Illinois. 

Race Day - Access to the indoor spaces will be for bathroom use and volunteers only. We will have a designated area outdoors for a drop bag to keep your extra layers while you run.

Parking - Volunteers and runners.  Please DO NOT park on the 1000 block of Linden OR in the alley behind the gym on race day .

THE COURSE

The course is approximately 5 kilometers or 3.1 miles. It is not certified. (unless the odometer of a classic 67 Chevy is acceptable.)

The START is at the front of St. Giles Gym on Linden Street just south of Greenfield in Oak Park, Illinois. We line up in the alley, and step off at 9:30 AM Community time. (so sometimes we’re a little late). The route is north to Greenfield, west to Marion, north to Le Moyne, east to Rossell, south to Greenfield, west to Elmwood, south to Berkshire, east to Ridgeland, then south, on the sidewalk, to Division, then west, still on the sidewalk, to Euclid, north to Berkshire, then east to Linden, and finally a quick kick, limp or stroll, north, on the sidewalk, to the FINISH line at St. Giles Gym, very close to the start.

NOTE
***Refund policy***I understand that race registration fees are not refundable under any circumstance, race registrations are not transferable to other participants or to a future years event. Please consider these factors carefully before completing your registration.

RULES FOR RUNNERS/WALKERS

1. Don’t take shortcuts. Course will be marked.
2. Be careful at intersections. We will try to monitor traffic, but we can’t guarantee control at any corners.
3. Please! Runners and walkers only. Bicycles, skaters, skiers, etc. are on their own and will not be timed.
4. Be careful! Have fun! Be Thankful.

AWARDS

To simplify this event for the volunteers there will not be an official awards ceremony. Awards will be handed out at the finish line. Overall - each male and female 1st, 2nd & 3rd place finishers will receive a very expensive looking medal commemorating their finish in the event. Each 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winner in each age division, male and female, will win a ribbon commemorating their age division place. All are expected to wear their awards at Thanksgiving Dinner so they can impress the relatives.

All finishers are to check-in at the Awards Table with their finishing time as soon as they finish the race. If you finish in the top three overall or in your age class, you will receive an award ribbon.

PROCEEDS

All proceeds from your race registration and all additional donations will be split 50/50 to support the following: 

Companions Journeying Together - Half of the proceeds will go to funding "Companions Journeying Together" ... CJT programs strive to impact the emotional, spiritual, and social lives of the incarcerated and their families. CJT seeks out opportunities to reach incarcerated women and men through a variety of programs designed to build healthy relationships and foster positive family communication. Our donation will be applied to Aunt Mary’s Storybook - We record incarcerated parents reading books to their children and send the recording and book to the child. 

For more information go to www.cjtinc.org

AND  

Centro San Edmundo  - Half of the proceeds will go to the “Migrant Ministry of the Catholic Parishes of Oak Park”.  The Migrant Ministry has been welcoming migrants who have arrived in Chicago since 2022. Migrant individuals and families are invited to come to St. Edmund’s School, now known as Centro San Edmundo, in Oak Park on Tuesday and Thursday mornings for breakfast, clothing, shoes, blankets, coats and toiletries. We also make available social services, ESL, immigrant support, health care, and spiritual accompaniment. The Housing program resettles migrant families by finding and furnishing apartments and assigning a mentor team to help the family navigate life in their new community. The program also provides a stipend to help cover food and other living expenses.

To donate separately:
https://www.stgilesparish.org/migrant-ministry

To volunteer at the Centro San Edmundo, send an email to:
immigrantministry@gmail.com

SPONSORS AND DONORS

The costs of managing this event continue to rise.  This year we are spending some money to hire a finish line computer timing system and additional signage. It is somewhat costly expenditure, but for the past few years we have had a problem providing finish times for the trotters immediately after their finish. This caused confusion and made it difficult to provide awards for the age group finishers. So we are asking for a few major sponsors to off-set the additional cost for this timing system and course marking/signage.  Please reach out to the race management team if you are interested in sponsoring this event.

AND  

At sign-up, there will also be an opportunity to make additional donations along with your race registration to the two organizations mentioned above.