Nope. Not kidding. That's exactly what Michelle Latkovic said when we asked her how many times her family has run the annual Wiregrass Wobble Turkey Trot. Answer: 2018 will be the third Thanksgiving running the Wiregrass Wobble together.

They learned about the Wobble a year after relocating to Tampa from Pittsburgh, PA. "It's a fabulous way to kick off the holidays! ...and it clears our conscience for what we're putting in our stomachs later," she said. 

Michelle, her husband TJ and their boys Donovan and Landon ran their first 5K together four years ago. "The boys play a lot of video games. It's our parental obligation to get them up and moving--riding bikes or running with mommy and daddy," she said. "We love riding bikes at Flatwoods. Landon enjoys stopping at the water stations and reading all the bulletin boards. (BTW, see our Oct. 9 post--A WWTT donation through FITniche built the refrigerated water/water bottle stations at Flatwoods.)

Michelle recruited her sister-in-law and her family to join the fun last year so now there are eight runners. "It's fun seeing everyone dressed up as pilgrims, turkeys and decked out in other creative wardrobe selections," she added.

Is running the WWTT one of your family traditions? Share your story! We'd love to hear from families who have run all six years.

If you run races regularly, you've probably seen the tricked out racing chairs pushed by Ainsley's Angels. Their halos may be hidden under billed caps. They are there. These runners are gifting their runs to people who need a push to race for themselves. Proceeds from the annual Wiregrass Wobble Turkey Trot have funded two Ainsley's Angels running chairs through Wobble co-host FITniche.

Jodi Stoner thought she was going to run the Las Vegas marathon with a friend in 2014. Her friend introduced her to Shaun Evans, and the two of them pushed his son Shamus through the 26-mile course. "I hadn't trained to push. When we crossed the finish line, my husband had tears in his eyes. I was crying. I told him, 'This has to happen in Florida!'"

Stoner and her husband spent many months with their their home and garage full of wheelchairs until the New York Yankees and the Steinbrenner family bought Ainsley's Angels a trailer. It carries 27 chairs with room to grow. This year, Ainsley's Angels are branching out to Pensacola--their fifth Florida city following Tampa, Jacksonville, Orlando and Ft. Lauderdale.

When Jodi founded the Ainsley's Angels southeast region, she dreamed of having a Hoyt conversion chair. These chairs adapt for pulling or pushing so they can compete in triathalons, too. "Those chairs are $4,000. FITniche has given the only conversion chair," she said. This year, the FITniche chair went to Em Hughes and her family. "They're all runners who train with Em. It's a beautiful pink chair," Stoner said.

Jodi regularly runs with Katie Thompson, a young woman with cerebral palsy she met while interpreting for hearing impaired students in area schools. "We lost touch and reconnected over FB. Katie would come and watch me push. Now she races with me. She gets to wear a race bib, she grabs a water at all the water stations and she throws the cup! She gets a medal at end."

It's not just the medal. It's the mettle. Jodi and Katie qualified to run the Boston Marathon. "I did way better than I thought because the conditions were horrible. Freezing rain the whole way. We were 10 minutes off our personal record."

Interested in trying on a pair of wings and gifting a run? Contact Jodi. Jodi says there's no obligation. "Come run. Try it. If it's not your thing, no problem. No one's ever quit!"

This Thanksgiving morning at 7 a.m. over 2000 runners will take their marks for the sixth Wiregrass Wobble Turkey Trot at the Shops at Wiregrass. It’s a fun time for families, runners and walkers and the crowd has been growing every year.

Sure, some people know proceeds from the Wobble goes to charities. Here’s the rundown in black and white. Since 2013 the Turkey Day event has distributed more than $150,000 to community nonprofits.
• Last year the Rotary Club of New Tampa donated $46,000 to community nonprofits—one-third of which came from Wobble proceeds. The club’s signature project funds mobile pantries through Feeding Tampa Bay, Meals of Hope, Meals on Wheels and meals for families of injured veteran’s staying at Fisher House.
• Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel Foundation provides mobile medical and hygiene outreach for people in Pasco and Hillsborough counties. Pioneer Medical Group, the Wobble title sponsor, provides all the medical care.
• FITniche has funded two high capacity wheelchair accessible chilled drinking fountains with water bottle fillers at both Flatwoods Park trailheads. They also purchased two racing wheelchairs for Ainsley’s Angels. One wheelchair went to a family who participates regularly so the mother can run during the week as well as during races with her child.

Registration is open at www.WiregrassWobbleTurkeyTrot.org. Don’t run and don’t care to walk? How about volunteering? 


For Media: Interested in following up with any of the people and charities supported by the Wiregrass Wobble Turkey Trot? Contact:
Karen Mess Frashier, APR, Fellow PRSA
M 813-375-2663
kmf@AdvocateMarketingPR.comPlay to heart's content.