Thousands of joggers worked up an appetite, making room for a Thanksgiving feast Thursday at Marietta’s annual Gobble Jog, all while raising money for a good cause.
At the 22nd annual holiday event in downtown Marietta, people from Georgia and beyond dressed in festive costumes and athletic gear ran in a series of four races from the early morning 10K to the 50-yard “tot trot.”
For John Buchanan, 19, and his family, the Thanksgiving Day event has become a tradition. The Chicagoan said he ran his first Gobble Jog when he was 5 years old. This year, he left his family in the dust soon after a starter pistol kicked off the untimed 5K.
“They think it’s a competition,” Buchanan said as he waited for the rest of his family at the end of the finish line. “I always watch for them, but some of them don’t take it seriously.”
Credit: Ben Hendren
Credit: Ben Hendren
Joe Hutchinson, 53, of Marietta ran the 5K dressed head to toe in a turkey-themed costume, but soon after he finished the race, he shed the get-up.
“It was my daughter’s idea. She wanted to dress up and run together,” he said.
Hutchinson said his daughter, Josie, slowed her pace so she would not leave him behind. The teen won a cross-country state championship for Pope High School this year.
Credit: Ben Hendren
Credit: Ben Hendren
After Cinda Hamilton, 67, ran her fifth Gobble Jog with her grandchildren, the Marietta native said it was off to prepare the family’s Thanksgiving Day meal.
The annual event benefits Cobb County’s MUST Ministries, which aimed to raise $600,000 from this year’s fundraiser. Proceeds went toward the nonprofit’s effort to provide services such as food, shelter, clothes and a job-readiness program for those in need.
MUST Ministries CEO Ike Reighard said the event “turned into a pretty spectacular day.”
Credit: Ben Hendren
Credit: Ben Hendren
More than 9,000 people signed up for the charitable event, said Reighard. He said he was pleasantly surprised by the turnout following the night of rain.
“At one point they had a table at their house, they had a family and now they find themselves without homes,” Reighard said of the people being helped by the services MUST provides. “So we try to do everything that we can today to brighten their day to be there with them, because no one should have to spend Thanksgiving by themselves.”
Credit: Ben Hendren
Credit: Ben Hendren
Reighard said Thanksgiving and Christmas are among MUST Ministries’ busiest days for its meal program.
“I think people don’t want to be alone on those days,” he said. “It’s not just people who live in the shelter, but also elderly community members who want to be around others and enjoy a meal on Thanksgiving.”
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