BISMARCK, N.D. (KXNET) — Thanksgiving is a great time to eat your fill of the traditional holiday fare, but if you want to work up an appetite before sitting down for the meal, there’s no better way to do so than by getting out and about — and Minot’s annual Magic City Turkey Trot is a perfect place to do just that.

The Turkey Trot is held every year by the Magic City Figure Skating Club’s Synchronized Skating (Synchro) teams, and is currently in its ninth consecutive year of operation. The series of outdoor activities (including a one-mile fun run/walk and a 5k run/walk), typically draws roughly 300 runners, walkers, and dogs to the Brick Studio in Minot — where they are sent on a full course that takes participants through the city’s downtown area as well as Roosevelt Park. Participants can also wear costumes for a chance to win awards for the best dressed and most spirited runners, and after the event, there will be multiple opportunities to win Thanksgiving pies to make your feast complete.

In addition to being a fun way to get out and about before a Thanksgiving meal, the event also serves as one of the primary fundraisers for Magic City Synchro — as the nature of figure skating as a whole (and especially group skating) means that practicing it can be a very costly endeavor. The Magic City Figure Skating Club has two synchro teams (the Edges and the Picks), and both have individual costs and needs to be considered.

“Magic City Figure Skating has a long line of Synchronized Skating teams dating back to the
late 70s,” says Program Director Barb Kohlman. “It can be an expensive sport with outfitting the team, travel, ice time, and coaching. The Turkey Trot helps to offset some of those costs to make it more affordable for skaters to be a part of a team.”

The Turkey Trot is scheduled to take place on Thanksgiving morning (Thursday, November 23), at 9:00 a.m. Strollers and friendly dogs on leashes are welcome to attend. Admission for adults and teens is $30 each, children twelve and under are $15, and children five and under are free. In order to register for the event, visit this page. Those who pre-register by November 12 will receive a free t-shirt.

More information on race day can be found on the Turkey Trot’s event page here.