Dr. Jennifer Denning on the Dallas YMCA Turkey Trot

• A mainstay of Thanksgiving Day in the Dallas area, the Dallas YMCA Turkey Trot looks to the early 1940s for its origins.

• Sporadically held in the intervening years, the event did not become a regular part of Dallas life until 1968.

• In that year, an eight-mile course was set that ran along the banks of White Rock Lake.

• By the late 1970s, the race’s popularity had grown such that organizers relocated the race to the downtown area.

• More recently, in 2009, the distance was reset to five miles.

• Now the country’s largest Thanksgiving Day running event, the Turkey Trot draws runners and families from throughout the region with festivities and games at the race’s end.

• While the course is certified and the race is timed, the run is not organized solely for the benefit of runners.

• With over 36,000 participants from all ages and all levels of running experience at the 2011 event, the Turkey Trot is a time for camaraderie as much as athleticism.

• Jennifer Denning, MD, OB/GYN, works with Northlake OB/GYN in Frisco, Texas.

• A participant in distance running for over 2 years, she ran the Turkey Trot in 2012 as her first timed race.