See thousands Run to Feed the Hungry in Sacramento Thanksgiving tradition

Thousands of people flooded the streets of East Sacramento on Thursday, many dressed in turkey-themed costumes, as the biggest Thanksgiving day race in the country returned for its 29th year.

Among the participants, veteran runner Hillary Sunada arrived in her 12-year-old hat that featured a full Thanksgiving dinner — a turkey, a heap of mashed potatoes, Brussels sprouts, pie and decorative gourds.

“I think I’m at the limit to adding more things,” Sunada said. “I added a dinner roll somewhere and that’s probably it.”

Run to Feed the Hungry organizers expected more than 28,000 participants on the 10K and 5K courses that started near the entrance to the Sacramento State campus. The event benefits the Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services.

Marcela Estrada, an ophthalmologist UC Davis Health Eye Center, had participated in the previous year’s race with a team of her colleagues and “had a blast.” This year she invited her extended family to join.

“We grew up in the Lodi area, we never made it to this race until last year,” Estrada said. “Now, we’re going to make it a family tradition every year.”

Shadrack Biwott of Folsom finished first in the 10K race with a time of 29 minutes, 58 seconds. Lindsay Tollefson of Mammoth Lakes was the first-place female finisher, at 36:31.

This story was originally published November 24, 2022 at 12:54 PM.