CLEVELAND — Christine Stanley takes running the Cleveland Turkey Trot up a notch. She makes her own costume each year to show off at the annual Thanksgiving morning running race.
“I do headbands. I do sunglasses. I do felt cutouts. I do socks. I do pants. I do—you name it,” Stanley said. “I love to dress up for everything. I think it’s fun. It brings smiles to peoples’ faces to see someone out there enjoying life and doing fun things. Silly glasses, silly hats. You just don’t know what people need to brighten their day, something to make them smile. So I, I try to enjoy life to its fullest.”
She said dressing up makes her happy, but she also does it because it made her mom happy. Stanley’s mom passed away from stage four lung cancer in 2018. While her mom was battling cancer, Stanely started running to clear her head and raise money for all sorts of causes.
“I would do a race and my mom would say, ‘well, what are you wearing today?’ and I’d go over in my outfit, and she, it would light up her eyes, and she’d get excited. And so I just kept doing it from there,” Stanley said.
From Christmas to Halloween to St. Patrick’s Day and beyond, Stanley has run in hundreds of races and is always one of the most festive participants.
“Smiling is good for you. Laughing is good for you,” Stanley said. “It keeps you healthy, and you got to have a positive attitude. And I think seeing someone who’s willing to go that extra mile and say hey, let’s dress up and have fun—that makes them realize, yeah, we can all do this and enjoy life.”
But Stanely isn’t alone in the fun. Many others on Thanksgiving Day dress up as well. There is a friendly costume contest which Stanley has won a few times. Winners are chosen the Monday after the race by the Hermes Sports and Events team, the organization that hosts the Cleveland Turkey Trot.
“Christine loves to dress up,” said Joe Neroni, the race manager for Hermes Sports and Events. “Every year, she does something a little bit different. And she just does it to make others happy. I mean, that’s really what it is. She likes the whole atmosphere of the Cleveland Turkey Trot and just wants to spread a little bit of joy.”
Joe Neroni, race manager, Hermes Sports and Events. (Spectrum News 1/Taylor Bruck)
Neroni said 7,000 people are signed up this year for the 41st annual Turkey Trot in Cleveland, a number just a few thousand short from pre-pandemic races.
“It’s a Cleveland tradition,” Neroni said. “It’s a northeast Ohio tradition. It’s a family tradition.”
The Turkey Trot brings together the young, the old, the fast and slow. Stanley said she needs a full knee replacement, yet still participates.
“What I do is ‘shlogging.’ I made my own term up,” Stanley said. “It’s a slow jog, so I put it together and call it schlogging.”
She said if her mom taught her anything, it’s that life is short and to never give up.
“I’m going to keep doing it,” Stanley said. “And I’m going to keep asking mom to help push me along on the times that I’m tired, and I don’t think I can complete it. But she’s there. And if she fought as hard as she did, I know I can to make it through a race.”
She encourages people to not take life too seriously and go have some fun.
“Get dressed up and come join me,” Stanley said. “Happy Thanksgiving everyone!”
