History – Chatham Turkey Trot, MA
The Chatham Turkey Trot was started in 2005 by Mary Parsons and Linda Redding. It was inspired by the We Gather Together Run-Walk held in Sandwich each year on Thanksgiving day, and gave people on the Lower Cape a way to give back on Thanksgiving.
The Lower Cape Outreach Council has always been the beneficiary of the proceeds from the Chatham Turkey Trot, which has gotten bigger each year.
Mary and Linda were honored to receive the LCOC’s Hope Award in 2009 which honors people who have made a difference in the lives of the people of the Lower Cape.
In 2016, the Chatham Turkey Trot achieved licensed non-profit status. Also in 2016, the Chatham Turkey Trot committee was established to assist Linda and Mary with all of the tasks associated with hosting an event for over 2,600 people. The Chatham Turkey Trot committee is made up of Mary Parsons, Linda Redding, Bob Redding, Jennifer Watson, Jon Watson, Susan Carroll, Jen Avery and George Avery.
The support from local businesses sponsoring the Chatham Turkey Trot and donating raffle items has been outstanding every year, and we are truly grateful to them.
In 2022, after 16 years of managing the race, the Chatham Turkey Trot Committee decided to retire and hand management of the race over to LCOC. In our first year, we raised over $100,000 and had 2,271 registrations!
LCOC is honored to continue this successful event into the future and is looking forward to hosting this year!