Soon, the laces will be tied, the race bibs will pinned and the costumes will be donned for the upcoming Southern Oregon Turkey Trot.

A staple in the Rogue Valley running scene for close to 20 years, the Thanksgiving Day event brings late fall fun to Talent with 2-mile, 5K and 8-mile races.

“We have kids in strollers all the way to 90-year-olds doing it; if your body is able, you are welcome,” said Amber Jacobson, race director and president of Southern Oregon Runners. “There’s something for everybody, and everyone who finishes gets a medal.”

Many race attendees show up in Thanksgiving- and turkey-themed attire for the holiday race, including some costumes that go the extra mile.

“We’ve had a gentleman run in an inflatable cooked turkey costume, and there are a lot of different types of outfits you’ll see,” Jacobson said.

The event brought out about 1,100 participants in 2022, and this year a 5K race is a new addition to the Turkey Trot.

Organizers are also upping their local approach to race shirts and medals, electing this year to enlist the services of Rogue Valley printing and engraving shops.

“We’ve been focusing on using local businesses like Hat Trick Laserworks (for medals) instead of ordering from big online companies, and we’re also using Aztech Screen Printing for shirts,” Jacobson said. “Last year’s shirt was a concept that my son came up with and this year’s (design) is a cute little turkey with slice of pie that my niece — who’s a wonderful artist — drew up for us.”

The Turkey Trot race medals for 2023 will be wooden pumpkin pie slices.

It costs $20 per person to sign up for the Turkey Trot, with the opportunity to register ending at 5 p.m. Nov. 21. Kids and adolescents under 18 can participate for free and Southern Oregon Runners members can participate for a reduced fee of $15.

To register, visit runsignup.com/Race/OR/CentralPoint/SouthernOregonRunnersTurkeyTrotRun.

The 8-mile race begins at 8 a.m., the 5K starts at 8:15 a.m. and the 2-mile race kicks off at 8:30 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 23.

Each of the three races starts and finishes at the Cummins Battery Systems building — otherwise known as the old Talent Walmart — located at 300 W. Valley View Road.

Dogs, bikes, skateboards and roller skates are not permitted at the Turkey Trot.

A portion of proceeds from the Turkey Trot go toward the Shoes for Student Runners program, which provides proper running shoes for youth runners in the Rogue Valley who can’t afford them.

“We started (Shoes for Student Runners) four years ago or so. It kicked up after Almeda Fire, and we were trying to figure out how to start a shoe program,” Jacobson said. “We got shoes to families that lost all their shoes during the fire.”

“I’m a coach as well and we know there’s a big need for shoes for students in the Rogue Valley,” Jacobson, head coach of the Talent Middle School cross country team, added.

So far, organizers have donated close to 500 pairs of shoes since the program started.

“It’s a really cool program and I feel fortunate to be able to make that happen for the youth in our running community,” Jacobson said.

Race organizers will also be hosting a food drive for the Southern Oregon University Food Pantry at the Turkey Trot.

To learn more about the race and its organizer, Southern Oregon Runners, see sorunners.org.