Each Thanksgiving morning, the Kachemak Bay Running Club and the City of Homer Community Recreation Department host a combined fun run and food drive to benefit the Homer Community Food Pantry. This noncompetitive, untimed 5-kilometer race is open to people of all ages and fitness levels who bring in at least two non-perishable food items for the entry fee.
The 2025 Homer Turkey Trot, held last Thursday, Nov. 27, brought in 55 runners for the race and 145 canned goods for the pantry.
Typically, the race is held outdoors, with the route starting and ending at Homer High School. This year, however, due to icy conditions outdoors, the “official run” was moved into the halls of the high school.
“The high school parking lot was very icy,” KBRC board treasurer Matthew Smith said via text later that afternoon. “We also checked the track but it had the same problems — water on ice.”
Still, he wrote, most participants chose to run on their own on the usual course at their own risk.
“Homer runners are hardy,” Smith wrote. “There were even participants who drove down from Soldotna for the run, since the Soldotna event had already been planned for indoors, and they wanted to run outside and check out Homer.”
Following the race, KBRC held their regular raffle and gave away ten door prizes to participants, including Community Rec hoodies and KBRC t-shirts, hats and running bibs.
Learn more about upcoming KBRC events at kachemakbayrunningclub.org/.
