BOZEMAN — Thousands of runners, young and old, woke up early on Thanksgiving Day for the 16th annual Huffing for Stuffing.
“It was tough to get out of bed today. We did this last year but we did this last year we want to make it,” says runner Sean Hill.
The kids started off the day by running around the Museum of the Rockies.
“It was good pretty easy,” says Ember Hunt.
Ember Hunt ran the race in a few minutes resulting in major bragging rights this Thanksgiving.
“Being in first place,” says Hunt.
This year’s race featured new race turkeys. Leigh Holleman was one of them and helped warm up with the kids.
“This is the first time you kind of notice me more than normal,” says Holleman
Running on Thanksgiving has become a tradition for Holleman.
“My first taste of a Thanksgiving Day run in Ohio when I used to coach high school cross country and track,” says Holleman
Since she moved to Bozeman, she has run in every race since it started 16 years ago with her kids and her parents.
“They got to run the kids run over at the hospital. I got to join my sister took the wrong turn on the 5k and ended up doing the 10k by mistake,” says Holleman
Why run so early? So, you get to enjoy the rewards later of course!
“I try to do the 10k so I can eat more on Thanksgiving,” says Holleman
As people hit the icy streets of Bozeman, families came together in their best costumes or even just their regular running gear. Today’s race is about making memories and helping the community
“Sometimes you see the excitement in a family member cheering someone else on or a little kid running their first race. So, it's things that I don't even know that I'm going to be so excited about once I see,” says Holleman.
