Photo Provided Morristown residents celebrate Thanksgiving by participating in the annual Turkey Trot 5k run and walk.

MORRISTOWN — Before people run to the dinner table, residents will be racing to the finish line for the annual Turkey Trot.

The Thanksgiving Day 5K race takes place in Morristown, starting and ending at the historic Black Horse Inn.

The annual Turkey Trot was founded in 2012 and is a free 5K run and walk organized by Ashley Rataiczak Davis. Registration is at 8 a.m. and the race begins at 8:15 a.m. with the route making its way throughout the village down into Morristown Park.

“It does a really nice job of showcasing historic Morristown, the old houses and the park,” Davis’ father John Rataiczak said. “It’s sort of neat that the main street of Morristown was the original National Road. So you’re doing a Turkey Trot on the National Road that people crossed America to go out west on.”

He added that his daughter started the event for her neighbors and friends to gather on Thanksgiving morning to start the day out special.

“Over the years, it’s just grown in popularity, and we’ve never really advertised it. It’s more of an event that somebody comes and is like ‘Hey this is fun. I’m doing it again next year.’ And then they bring somebody and it’s just grown ever since,” he said.

Rataiczak added that now that Davis is a mother of two, he and his wife Melissa Rataiczak have stepped up to help her with the event’s duties.

He said that his family loves doing the event because they feel it’s a great way to start Thanksgiving.

“It gets you up and out around people and it’s really all about the fellowship and thankfulness,” Rataiczak said. “Everybody’s always in a good mood. It’s just a really nice way to start Thanksgiving. It’s over by 10 a.m., so you can get home in time to watch the parade.”

He added that it has become a wonderful Thanksgiving tradition for everyone who attends.

In addition to the 5K the event will also have a Tot Trot for children of all ages who want to participate. The tot trot starts immediately following the 5K and is roughly a block long.

Rataiczak said there’s no real age restriction to the tot trot because the event is about community and inclusion and he has no plans of turning any child away regardless of age.

All participants of the tot trot will receive a medal while only the first place winner of the 5K will receive a trophy.

“Again, it’s all about the fellowship and thankfulness, so no way will any child get turned away,” Rataiczak said.