Members of the BJU community will have the opportunity to run in the 27th annual Turkey Bowl 5K next Saturday, continuing the tradition of running a race on the weekend before Thanksgiving week.

The race will begin at 9 a.m., and many of the runners will be BJU students, faculty, staff and alumni, including the Bruins cross-country team, participating for the first time.

Whether you’re running to win first place or just want to get some good exercise before you go home to mom’s Thanksgiving cooking or just running for the fun of it, the race is the perfect weekend activity before the Thanksgiving break.

Students can sign up for the race for only $10 (non-students can register for $20), and prizes include a cash prize, a trophy and a T-shirt, featuring the new Alumni Association logo and the inaugural Bruins cross-country team logo, along with turkeys for both the male and female first-place finishers. The Alumni Association also provides refreshments, along with timing and scoring during the race.

In the past, almost 75 percent of race participants have been students, with the rest of the field composed of faculty, staff and alumni. But Mr. Jonathan Pait, manager of events and services at the Alumni Association, wants to see anyone and everyone come out to participate.

“The tradition of the run seems to be the best promotion of it, [and] many people return each year,” Pait said. “Word of mouth is what attracts a good amount of the participants.” Participants can also choose to walk the course and enjoy the crisp November air.

One good piece of advice from veteran runners is to run at least a little bit in the days before the race. “You can’t run a 5K cold if you want to place,” junior biology major David Overly said. “Not only will you not perform well, but you may also risk injury.”

So whether you want to run with the Bruins cross-country team, or whether or not you have the time to train before the race, the annual event is still one you won’t want to miss. “This is a big event for BJU, for people to look back at and say you did it,” graduate assistant Michael Conn said.

Get a good night’s rest, dress warmly, take a warm-up jog, and run hard until the finish line!