Crawfordsville Parks and Recreation’s annual Sugar Creek Trail Pie Run celebrates 25 years as a Thanksgiving tradition this year.
The fundraiser supports the Trail Maintenance Fund. The annual event includes a competitive 5K run, a two-mile Fun Run and Walk and a Kid’s Run. Random finishers are awarded pies. The start and finish line is at the Rock River Ridge Trailhead. The organizers describe it as a family-oriented event.
Damon Clements, a longtime volunteer for the department, created the idea for a holiday marathon in 2000 after being inspired by a similar race in Newport, Rhode Island.
To mark the 25th anniversary, there will be five envelopes with $25 each given out to random winners throughout the race.
Awards include $100 to the first place man and woman, $50 to second place and $25 to third place. Nearly 50 pies will be awarded at random.
Registration is open through the morning of the run until 8 a.m. Participants can register online at crawfordsvileparks.activityreg.com. The registration fee is 30 dollars.
This year’s race begins at 9 a.m. Thursday at the Rock River Ridge Trailhead at 2722 W. Rock Road.
Sponsors include B and L Engineering, HSD Homes, Nucor Indiana, Mishler Dental, Tom’s Marine, Acuity Brands, Terry and the Zoo, Penguin Random House, The TeeShirt Shoppe, Full Spectrum, Hoosier Heartland State Bank and the Journal Review.
The event has grown into a Thanksgiving tradition for many. Organizers say the run now regularly draws 250 to 300 participants. Families often return year after year, with some groups bringing 10 to 12 relatives. Runners from other countries have even participated while visiting family for the holiday, calling the Pie Run a small piece of Americana.
Clements said that while there is not a single person who has completed all 25 races, many participants have run nearly every year for the last two decades.
