Thanksgiving traditions

Fort Worth Turkey Trot moves to new location for Thanksgiving 2023

YMCA of Metropolitan Fort Worth Turkey Trot

Go ahead, be a turkey.

Photo courtesy of YMCA of Metropolitan Fort Worth

Fort Worth Turkey Trotters who wobble before they gobble on Thanksgiving will lace up their running shoes in a new location this year: The Shops at Clearfork.

The 42nd annual Moritz YMCA of Metropolitan Fort Worth Turkey Trot is leaving its longtime location on Camp Bowie Boulevard and heading south to the Clearfork shopping center on Thanksgiving morning, November 23. It's just the third time the event has changed locations in 42 years.

Having it at Clearfork, organizers say, will allow the family-friendly Trot to spread out and offer new activities; more than 10,000 runners, walkers, strollers, and pets are expected to attend.

One new offering will be an additional distance option for participants - a 13K. Those who finish the 8K course, organizers say, can then join in on the 5K run and earn medals for all three events. (Read all the rules here.) Walkers and runners, of course, can still choose to complete just the 1K Hapi Water Gobbler Trot or the 5K or 8K events.

"The variety of distances make it possible for runners and walkers to participate in ways most suitable and appealing to them," says a press release.

The event will also include a Kids Zone with a magician and balloon artist; a display of cars and trucks presented by title sponsor Moritz; and complimentary digital photos offered by presenting sponsor Texas Health.

In addition to being a fun and healthy holiday tradition, the Turkey Trot is a major fundraiser. All proceeds from registration fees support the YMCA of Metropolitan Fort Worth, with programs that benefit the wellbeing of individuals in Tarrant, Johnson, and Hood counties.

“Turkey Trot is a great event for the whole family, and it is an important fundraiser for the YMCA of Metropolitan Fort Worth,” says Mike Brown, president and CEO, in the release. “The Trot supports YMCA day camps, after-school child care, water safety and many other programs, and it helps ensure that we don’t ever have to turn away a child or family who wants or needs our services.”

The Shops at Clearfork is at 5188 Monahans Ave., Fort Worth. Turkey Trot starts at 8 am, beginning with the 1K Gobbler Trot. The 8K race starts at 8:15 am, and the 5K, at 8:30 am. After runners have started each event, walkers are welcomed to join.

Entry fees are as follows:

5K/8K ($40 untimed, $45 timed)
13K ($57 untimed)
1 Hapi Water Gobbler Trot ($25)
Alley Cats Dog Trot (for those who have already registered and want to run with a well-trained dog; $20)

Registration fees increase on November 18. There's a $5 discount for groups and families of five or more who register before November 20.

Per tradition, a costume contest is open to all participants registered for the 1K, 5K or 8K events. The top 10 costumed Turkey Trot participants will be recognized on stage after the 5K and 8K races at 9:30 am.

Race-day registration will begin at 6:30 am, and the course will close at 10:30 am - around the time some Shops at Clearfork restaurants will start carving up their Thanksgiving turkeys.

For more information, packet pickup details, registration, course maps, and more, visit www.fwtrot.org.

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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."