Valley-Wide Recreation and Park District held its 36th annual Turkey Trot Family Fun Run on Saturday, Nov. 23. This year, it was named the Jack Warneke Memorial 2024 Turkey Trot in honor of longtime supporter Jack Warneke, of San Jacinto, who passed away in March. Warneke had participated in all 35 of the previous races as well as all of the Bunny Hop runs held in the spring. He was also a regular competitor in the District’s annual OLDlympics. Warneke kept a log of all his runs, and it amounted to more than 25,000 miles in his 92 years.
In the past, the popular event has typically seen about 70 participants while this year 115 were pre-registered with another 53 signing up on Saturday morning. A short ceremony to honor Warneke took place before the start of the 5K Walk. Valley-Wide’s General Manager Dean Wetter said the dedication was decided among staff but swiftly approved by the Board of Directors when presented for their approval.
“We are pleased to have this opportunity to introduce this event to honor Jack, who touched all our hearts,” Wetter said. “He was a very inspirational man. Jack was more than just a participant. He was a community member that should be remembered for his healthy lifestyle. It’s not widely known but Jack and his wife Nancy were very strong financial supporters of our youth scholarship program that has given hundreds of kids the opportunity to participate in our many sports offerings. Since 1972, we have never turned away a child for an inability to pay.”
The top three winners in each category received a medal and some extra goodies. A raffle for Jack Warneke prize baskets was also held during the event. Senior Recreation Supervisor Missy Galloway, the longest tenured employee at Valley-Wide Recreation and Park District, said she was glad to be at the race, “in honor of my friend Jack. Cheers to him!”
Among those who have run this race in the past were sisters Keilee Subith, 10 and Kiana Subith, 8 whose grandfather Sheldon Subith is an avid long-distance runner and founder of the Native American Trail Running Organization (NATRO).
An ongoing friendly rivalry continued on Saturday between Ben Cherland, 12 and Max Millan, 11. Ben’s father, Bret Cherland, said the boys almost always trade off finishing first and second in races where they both compete. Bret, who also ran in the 5K race, said. “I finished. I wasn’t listening when I got my time, but I’m proud that I basically kept the same pace for the entire run. There were a lot of really fast guys in my 40-49 age group.”
Ben attends Western Science Academy in Hemet and Max is at Edward Hyatt World Language Academy in San Jacinto. Max earned first place in the 1K with a time of 3:22 and Ben was on his heels finishing at 3:26 for second place. Ben went on to complete the 5K in 27:09 minutes, placing second behind Daniel Ragier who ran an impressive 23:49 race.
“I’ve been running since I was like three,” Max said. “I like doing the Turkey Trot; it’s a good workout.” His mother, Carmina Millan, said she and her husband like putting their two sons into sports. Alexander, 7, also competed in Saturday’s events. “They’ve both always been athletic.”
Their father Ryan didn’t participate this year but has in the past and said, “Max has run in the Turkey Trot for eight years straight and has always placed first overall since he started.”
Saturday’s competition began with the Gobble Trot and girls under three years of age finished in the following order: Ava Solis, Mia McKinney and Olive Robinette. For boys under three, it was Tobias Whaley first and Oliver Ogle, second. Amelia Jimenez and Quinn Shinnette took first and second in the girls 4-5 age group and Kuy Mendez and Ethan Mata did the same for the boys.
The Junior Turkey Trot, a 1K run for those 12 and under resulted in first place finishes in their respective age groups by Vashti Miller, Levi Koehler, Kiana Subith, Carter Ray, Samantha Lucero and Max Millan.
For the 5K events, walkers started first and after the runners got the whistle, they soon passed by the walkers that were on the trail that was set up around the perimeter of Valley-Wide’s Diamond Valley Lake Community Park in Hemet. The top three walkers were Anna Miller, Gwen Yost and Mia Iniquez.
Mike Ogle, who is an avid runner, placed first in his age group for the 5K run, which he completed in under 40 minutes. Having participated in Valley-Wide’s Turkey Trot and other events for the past 35 years or so, he knew Warneke well and said he will always miss him. Ogle’s one-year-old grandson, Oliver, competed in the Gobble Trot, carrying on a family tradition.
Prior to the ceremony for the winners of the pee-wee and junior trot races, Valley-Wide’s Public Information Officer Craig Shultz said, “Every single person who ran in the race deserves a medal.”
Jan Bissell, President of Valley-Wide’s Board of Directors for the past five years, wished everyone a good time on the course. “Valley-Wide is in my blood,” he said. Bissell began coaching and volunteering with the District in 1975 and has a college degree in recreation. He was elected to the board for the first time in 1999 and served until 2010. He then worked for the organization before returning to serve on the board. “I love this community,” he said, adding that he moved to Hemet in 1959. “Just because of how our world is changing, recreation is so important. Keeping kids active and off their computers and phones is a good thing. It makes me smile to see them involved in all the activities we have to offer them.”
For more information, www.gorecreation.org.
To read about Jack Warneke’s running history and regiment, visit our previous story at https://myvalleynews.com/blog/2020/11/06/san-jacinto-runner-reaches-milestone.
