Last Thursday wasn't just Thanksgiving Day in Texas, it was also the 44 th annual Dallas YMCA Turkey Trot; a family-friendly tradition that gets over 38,000 Dallas residents out of their houses to participate in a 5k fun run.
The race is sponsored by Capital One Bank, with all proceeds benefiting the Dallas YMCA programs that work to strengthen the foundations of community.
The Turkey Trot consists of a certified 5K as well as an eight mile race, but this year it had something new to offer. The YMCA and Capital Bank partnered up to attempt the Guinness World Records feat for largest gathering of people dressed as turkeys.
I travelled to Dallas to adjudicate the attempt, arriving at the Turkey Trot at 5am on Thanksgiving morning where I found volunteers from the YMCA and Capital One Bank setup and ready for the masses. Capital One Bank provided turkey costumes for those participants who had opted not to make their own.
To qualify for the record, the costume had to include a turkey beak, a turkey coloured bodysuit with plumes on the back, and webbed turkey feet. This was a new Guinness World Records attempt, with a minimum of 500 people required to set a benchmark.
As people started to stream in with their full turkey attire, I started to count the qualifying turkeys as they entered the designated area, termed the "coop." It was quite a sight to see!
After the turkeys were gathered in the coop, I started the timer, as a minimum of 10 minutes held in the coop was required to meet the Guinness World Records guidelines. After the 10 minutes, I was happy to announce a new Guinness World Records achievement for the largest gathering of people dressed as turkeys with 661 participants.
The turkeys cheered in celebration, and were then let out of the coop and free to run the 5k race.