The third annual Village of Greenport Turkey Trot drew 160 participants early yesterday morning, including lots of North Fork Animal Welfare League four-legged alumni. The event benefits the group and a collection of items needed for the Southold animal shelter filled the back of a minivan with food, blankets, towels and toys.
“It’s a wonderful community event,” NFAWL executive director Gillian Pultz said yesterday. She said she especially enjoyed the fact that so many shelter alumni were walking and jogging with their humans in the annual Thanksgiving Day event.
Organizer Noah Thomas came up with the idea three years ago, after he moved to the village.
“Every town I ever lived in had a turkey trot,” Thomas said. “So when I moved here and realized there wasn’t one, I decided to organize it.” The first event was done with a very short lead time, he said, because he decided to do it only two weeks before Thanksgiving. He printed flyers and put them all around the village.
“It’s really grown,” Thomas said.
There was no official time-keeping for the event, billed as a fun-run. “Everyone who runs is a winner,” Thomas said.
“It’s for a very good cause.”
