Ridgewood Turkey Trot Set for Thanksgiving Day

RALEIGH, N.C. (November 23, 2009)—Registration is up more than 75 percent compared to last year for the sixth annual Ridgewood Turkey Trot (www.ridgewoodturkeytrot.com), pushing estimated participation to 2,500 – 3,000. The Triangle tradition takes place on November 26, 2009 at the Ridgewood Shopping Center on Wade Avenue in Raleigh and benefits the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

“I am amazed at the tremendous community support,” says Bruce Bokish, Ridgewood Turkey Trot event coordinator. “With some good weather, we could reach 3,000 participants.”

The 2009 Turkey Trot will feature four events: competitive and noncompetitive 8K races, a one-mile fun run and a kids' dash. The race is sanctioned by U.S.A. Track and Field and is held on a certified course. The fastest male and female runners in each competitive division will receive prizes from Fleet Feet Sports of Raleigh and Mizuno. Every one hundredth competitive race finisher will receive a free pair of Mizuno shoes.

Participants have several options to register for the event:

•Online at active.com (http://tinyurl.com/2009TurkeyTrot) – Registration ends at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 24. Discounts are available for participants registering online.
•At advanced packet pick ups on Tuesday, Nov. 24 and Wednesday, Nov. 25 from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Fleet Feet Sports, Raleigh in the Ridgewood Shopping Center.
•On race day beginning at 7 a.m. – registration for the competitive 8K race is not available at this time.

In 2008, more than 1,700 participants help raise $18,500 for charity. Runners and enthusiasts represented 44 North Carolina towns and cities, 33 U.S. States, Canada, France and the Marshall Islands. Visit www.ridgewoodturkeytrot.com for more information.

About MS Events:
MS Events is a Triangle nonprofit, dedicated to coordinating bike and foot races that raise funds and awareness for local causes. The organization began as a group of volunteers and continues today as such with nonprofit certification. Currently, MS Events raises funds for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society of Eastern North Carolina. 2009 events include: St. Patty's Run Green 8K, Cup 'n Cone Tour and the Ridgewood Turkey Trot. For more information, visit www.mseventsnc.org.

About the National Multiple Sclerosis Society:
MS stops people from moving. The National MS Society exists to make sure it doesn’t. We help each person address the challenges of living with MS. Each year, through our home office and 50-state network of chapters, we devote approximately $125 million to programs and services that enhance more than one million lives to move us closer to a world free of MS. In 2007, the Society invested more than $46 million to support 440 research projects around the world. We are people who want to do something about MS NOW. If you or someone you know has MS, please contact the National MS Society today at www.nationalmssociety.org or 1-800 FIGHT MS to learn about ways to help manage multiple sclerosis and about current research that may one day reveal a cure.

About Multiple Sclerosis:
Multiple sclerosis interrupts the flow of information from the brain to the body and stops people from moving. Every hour in the United States, someone is newly diagnosed with MS, an unpredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system. Symptoms range from numbness and tingling to blindness and paralysis. The progress, severity and specific symptoms of MS in any one person cannot yet be predicted but advances in research and treatment are moving us closer to a world free of MS. Most people with MS are diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 50, with more than twice as many women as men being diagnosed with the disease. MS affects more than 400,000 people in the U.S. and 2.5 million worldwide.

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