Get Outside

Fun runs, festivals + more fit fall fun is on tap for September in DFW

What's Oktoberfest without a little beer after your run?

Photo courtesy of Fort Worth Oktoberfest

Now that temperatures are falling in North Texas, you might notice a little more pep in your step. Put that extra energy to good use with one (or several!) of the fun classes, festivals, and fundraisers below — all of which are outdoors, by the way.

MS is a Pickle Pickleball Tournament, September 17
Grand Prairie
Get ready to show off your skills, meet new friends, and enjoy some friendly competition at Chicken N Pickle. Whether you're a seasoned pro or a newbie to the game, this event is perfect for players of all levels.

2024 Dallas Heart Walk, September 21
Dallas
Start at the base of Reunion Tower and start moving with a crowd that's dedicated to raising funds to help eradicate heart disease and stroke. One and three-mile options are available, and all walkers who raise more than $100 receive a free T-shirt. If you are a survivor of these two ailments, you even get to finish the walk in a special survivors' lane.

FAME Fest, September 21
Dallas
An abbreviation for “fitness + arts + music + experience,” FAME Fest is an experiential fitness festival that brings together the hottest fitness trends, local artists, and musicians for a day of movement and arts. Sample pop-up fitness classes from studios like Training Mate and Club Studios, shop an interactive vendor market to discover new wellness companies, participate in interactive art installations, enjoy mini facials and a glitter bar, and watch a concert by Cure for Paranoia.

Fall Fest & Guzzler Run 0.5K, September 21
Garland
The "physically demanding" and "mentally strenuous" race known as the Garland Guzzler 0.5K is coming back for its seventh year. Race to Garland City Square from 6-10 pm and cheer on the “athletes” as they run the 0.5K route (546 yards or 1,638 feet, to be exact), enjoy the after-race fall festivities, food, beverages from Intrinsic Smokehouse & Brewery, live music from 40 Oz. to Freedom, and much more. Remember, costumes are encouraged!

Radio One 12th annual Golf Classic, September 27
Dallas
The kick-off to State Fair Classic Weekend, this tournament features a full course of threesomes paired with one of the special guest celebrities (who include pro athletes, comedians, and more). The classic is held at Cedar Crest Golf Course, the site of several national championships including the 1926 Dallas Open and the 1927 PGA Championship.

Fort Worth Oktoberfest 5K & Fun Run, September 28
Fort Worth
Formerly known as the Oktoberfest Run und Ride, this flat-route course also boasts great views and a free three-day pass to Oktoberfest — plus a commemorative beer stein — to each registered participant. New this year are contents: costume, largest team, etc. Look wunderbar while in your lederhosen and dirndls, then stay for the after-party on festival grounds after the race.

fitness health 5k feativals oktoberfest fun runs races heart walk promoted

Death Penalty

Tarrant County man gets death for murder of convenience store owner

Tarrant County Sheriff's Office

Christopher Turner

A man received the death penalty for his 2020 cold-blooded execution of a convenience store owner.

According to a release from the office of Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney Phil Sorrells, a Tarrant County jury sentenced Christopher Karon Turner, 48, to death on November 20 for executing convenience store owner Anwar Ali during a robbery. Tarrant County Assistant District Attorneys Charles Boulware and Allenna Bangs represented the state.

On March 27, 2020, at around 6:15 am, Turner, a convicted felon, wore a surgical mask and a glove and entered the Super Big Country Mart in an unincorporated area of Tarrant County south of Fort Worth. There, he held a gun to the back of Anwar Ali, the 62-year-old store owner, and walked him through the store.

Ali did everything Turner demanded, including opening the cash register to give him money. And yet Turner forced Ali into the bathroom and onto his knees, and shot him in the neck. Ali was discovered, dead in the bathroom, about an hour later.

Turner fled the store in Ali's Toyota minivan with the money from the register and Ali's wallet. In the van, he found more than $50,000 cash in a black bag. Over the next few days, Turner went on a shopping spree, buying cars, jewelry, drugs, clothes, and more. He and others used cash and a credit card that belonged to Ali.

Turner fled to Colorado where U.S. Marshals arrested him. On his body they found a firearm which was determined to be the murder weapon.

"This was a premeditated, cold-blooded murder," Boulware told the jury. "From the moment he was charged with this crime, he has tried to escape responsibility."

Bangs noted that before this trial began, Turner obtained the names of jurors and their telephone numbers, and gave them to an inmate charged with murder. At the trial on November 20, as Bangs addressed the jury, Turner tried to hold up a sign to the jury but was handcuffed by Sheriff's deputies who removed him from the courtroom, while he yelled out "she lied."

Ali came to the United States from Pakistan decades ago to pursue the American dream. Ali's son, Hussein, spoke in the courtroom after the death penalty was announced. "Thank you for giving us justice," Ali said. "I hope there are no more devils like this person."