There are lots of doings in this region, lots of events and festivals, games and performances, lots of serious times and joyful celebrations that connect straight to the dynamic culture and character of Sacramento.

But there's nothing that's such a bright reflection of what we have here, nothing so embedded in this region's soul, as the Thanksgiving morning Run To Feed the Hungry.

Some of it is the size of the run and walk, some is the cause behind it, and some is simply the joy of being part of something so cool.

The run is in its 15th year. It started with a couple of hundred runners and now is the largest Thanksgiving Day race in America. I have to believe it's also the most fun.

So at 9 a.m. Thursday, there will be more than 26,000 cheerful people out in front of Sacramento State – longtime runners, first-time walkers, families who gather from around the region and the country – all in a holiday mood, all ready to run, walk and celebrate, and to do something useful and say a little thanks.

There are so many things happening all at once at this run. It's a massive community gathering. It's a holiday party. It's a sight to see, a chance to exercise, and if you want, it's got the fastest 5K and 10K races in town.

It is, as my friend Terri Gilliland says, "an incredible, upbeat, high-energy, fun-fun thing to do. I get goose bumps being out there." And you should hear her when she gets excited about it.

Even more than the fun, there's the good work the race does, work needed even more in this hard and uncertain economy. The run is a fundraiser for the Sacramento Food Bank and Family Services. If you've spent much time around this column, or if you know anything about that operation in Oak Park, then you know the food bank and the people who run it make you proud to be part of this community.

On Monday and Tuesday before Turkey Day, the food bank will supply turkeys and the rest of a Thanksgiving meal to more than 3,500 families. Through the year, they distribute more than 5 million pounds of groceries.

And feeding people who need help is just one of the 11 programs there. The food bank teaches young moms parenting skills and gets them food and baby clothes; it offers education and job training to adults; after-school tutoring for kids; transitional living to get families back on their feet; computer training for teens; and a lot more.

About 20 percent of the food bank's budget comes from the run, and this year the goal is $750,000. So far, despite hard times and a drop in the amount of larger donations, the race and the fundraising is well ahead of last year because, simply enough, more people are giving.

That charitable spirit pervades the Run To Feed the Hungry, in part because it's Thanksgiving, in part because the feeling out there is communicable. You can't show up and not share the elation, or the notion that we all have a stake in our community.

Gilliland, for instance, who owns Lucca and Roxy restaurants with her husband, Ron, has gone from running the race to organizing teams from the restaurants to rounding up her own group of sponsors who give more money to the food bank.

This year, because all that is not enough, both restaurants are selling $1 raffle tickets to win a high-end mountain bike, plus gift certificates and more. And on Wednesday, for anyone who feels the need to carbo-load for the next day, 50 percent of the prices of all pasta dishes – and they make some good pasta at both stops – will go to the Sacramento Food Bank and Family Services.

I'm not kidding that the run's spirit is everywhere. On a night last week, all this area's BJ's Restaurant and Brewhouses donated some of their take. Monday, all 11 Chipotles in the region will contribute some of their proceeds from the day.

The run itself includes everyone from national class runners in the 10K (6.2 miles) to families walking the 3.1-mile 5K with kids and strollers. As a kindness to everyone else out there, and because the crowds are so large, race organizers ask: no dogs, please. (Besides, it's a holiday, so let your dog sleep in.)

One of the good little sideshows Thanksgiving morning – and I do mean sideshow – is the annual Celebrity Media Challenge team. That team is an assortment of Bee, radio and TV people, and in our general ineptness, we provide other runners a way to earn more money for the food bank.

For every person who beats our average time in the 10K, and this team is seriously not fast, The Bee will donate another $5 to the food bank.

The media team this year includes me, columnist Dan Weintraub, and staff writers Melody Gutierrez and Sam McManis from The Bee; Channel 3's Edie Lambert and Pamela Wu; Amy Lewis and Ed Crane, the morning anchors from NewsTalk 1530; and Jack Armstrong of Talk 650's Armstrong and Getty. In this group, we have more excuses for why we'll run slow than we have runners.

There are plenty of people out there who will run fast, but Run To Feed the Hungry is much more about showing up. It's about being part of this engaged community, about feeling the city around you, about being with friends and family and thousands of strangers all doing something good for people who need the help.

Even being selfish, there are loads of reasons to get out there: You get some exercise, you've connected to your neighbors, and you've contributed to charity. That makes for a Thanksgiving dinner that is entirely guilt-free.

Call The Bee's Rick Kushman, (916) 321-1187. Listen to him Thursdays at 8:40 a.m. on NewsTalk 1530 (KFBK) and 8:50 a.m. on Armstrong & Getty, Talk 650 KSTE.