A flock of runners dashes in Turkey Trot races through downtown Detroit

And ... they're off!

The 2019 Turkey Trot races unleashed the usual horde of runners in downtown Detroit, where they run on the parade route just before the city's big Thanksgiving Day parade.

It's the best bunch of races held each year in Detroit -- next to Detroit's marathon events, of course. This year's flock had about 16,000 entrants, said Doug Kurtis, former race director of the Strategic Staffing Solutions Turkey Trot, now "just a gopher," he quipped.

Tradition has it, the Turkey Trot is the best race each year for wearing something zany, especially if it's in the holiday spirit. After all, the runners have a captive audience of tens of thousands of parade watchers at the curb sides. So, the race field invariably includes hundreds of Santa caps and countless reindeer antlers affixed to knit hats, as well as the occasional runner -- usually a woman -- wearing a bridal gown.  

Also, strollers bearing non-runners are fully approved, as are members of fraternities looped together in mock-ups of giant six-packs. The event includes distances of 1 mile, 5K (3.1 miles) and 10K (6.2 miles).

Proceeds of the runners' entry fees are lumped an annual donation -- more than $100,000 this year, race officials said -- given to the Parade Company. That's the non-profit group that stages Detroit's parade, these days dubbed "America's Thanksgiving Parade presented by Art Van." 

After passing the finish line, bounded on one side by the Detroit River and the other by the skeletal vestiges of mostly demolished Joe Louis Arena, runners funneled into Cobo Hall. Once inside, they watched as winners of the races and the costume contest picked up their prizes -- gorgeous stained-glass scenes of Detroit, hand-crafted in Ferndale. And for each of the eight main race winners? A chocolate pie, baked by the family of race director Megan Jankowski.

The female winner of the 5K, 23-year-old Emily Smith of Wraxall in Somerset, England, and a student at Eastern Michigan University, exclaimed after picking up her award: "I love it -- so many people, and everyone's in such good spirits."

In more ways than one, Smith had a good time. She covered the 3.1-mile course in just over 17 minutes -- averaging under six minutes per mile, fast enough to incinerate a hearty meal today.

Contact: blaitner@freepress.com