It was before 9 a.m. when dozens of runners began to line up for the Trails-Giving 5K in Dieppe, N.B., on Monday. Several participants arrived wearing turkey hats — including runners Jacob Richard and Samuel Poirier. “We saw there was an event for five kilometers and decided to go for it,” Richard said. “It’s Thanksgiving, he texted me, he said ‘I have an idea,’ and I agreed to it. I don’t know why, but it happened,” Poirier said. It’s the first Thanksgiving Monday race put on by the MDR Conservation and Trails Association Inc. — and race organizer Simon Lemieux said they had to cap registration at 265 participants. “This is one of the things we as citizens can organize, get people on the trail Thanksgiving morning, have some great community fun and really enjoy what we already have in the region as trails,” he said. Along with turkey hats, one runner wore a mini fridge strapped to his back. It’s part of his food insecurity awareness campaign, Uptown Fridge, and Monday marked his second race of the weekend. “Winter is coming, and Christmas is an especially difficult time for people who can’t afford food, or they’re homeless, they become disconnected from family and friends,” Jesse Wright said. Meanwhile, local father Christophe Collard ran the 5K, pushing his daughter Lily Ann in a stroller ahead of him. “It’s family day, so I thought let’s get her involved. She also runs cross-country, so she really likes the sport, and next year she will run it for real,” he said. Provincial Public Safety Minister Robert Gauvin, a local MLA, also participated in the race alongside his wife. “I think it was a huge success, every slot was filled, and it’s good for the health,” he said, thought he noted he didn’t win. Lemieux hopes racers are hungry for seconds — next year. He plans to make the race an annual tradition. For more New Brunswick news, visit our dedicated provincial page.
