The second annual Turner Trot 5K is scheduled to take place Sunday morning, and it’s the first time the Justin Turner Foundation is holding the event in-person.
When debuting the 5K last year, participants completed the 3.1-mile trek virtually in the interest of public health and safety amid concerns related to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. While the Turner Trot remained available as a virtual option for those not in Los Angeles, the in-person race begins at Dodger Stadium.
“It’s just amazing. The fact that we get to start right here in Dodger Stadium and running down Sunset and going to The Dream Center, which is obviously very relevant for us because they’re a big beneficiary of ours, is special,” Justin Turner told DodgerBlue.com.
“Once it was all official, Kourt literally looked at me and was like, ‘Man, this is crazy. They’re literally shutting down a strip of Sunset for a Justin Turner Foundation event.’ Never in my wildest dreams would I have ever thought that I would have something to do with shutting down a street. This is crazy. I can’t tell you how excited we are and how much we’re looking forward to it.”
Turner will be on hand to start the race and greet finishers at the Dream Center. Kourtney Turner, who runs the Los Angeles Marathon to benefit the couple’s foundation, is participating in the Turner Trot.
All proceeds from the Turner Trot will benefit the Justin Turner Foundation, which focuses on supporting homeless veterans, children (and their families) battling life-altering illnesses and diseases, and youth baseball organizations.
Justin Turner Foundation All-Star bingo
With a Golf Classic and 5K established as signature events, Justin and Kourtney introduced Justin Turner Foundation All-Star Bingo this year to coincide with the Los Angeles Dodgers hosting the Midsummer Classic at Dodger Stadium.
“Better than any of our expectations,” Turner said of the inaugural bingo event. “A lot of work went into setting it up because it was the first time we’ve done this. So trying to make sure we had everything thought of and covered, and the process of putting the whole event together.
“Once we got there and things started rolling, it was awesome. I think when everyone thinks bingo event, everyone takes it kind of lightly. Because Kourt and I weren’t playing and just hanging around watching everyone, seeing how locked in they were to their bingo cards, literally seeing the adrenaline rush people were having when they were one letter away from winning, was worth the whole thing.”
“That’s what we experience (when playing bingo in Indiana), so the hope was everyone gets the same joy and same adrenaline rush out of it that we do. I think it was pretty successful.
“It’s something we definitely want to do again. MLB has already talked to us and said they want to be a part of it again. I don’t know whether that is an All-Star event in Seattle next year, which would make it interesting for us, or maybe we try to figure out how to do something here. But it’s definitely something we want to keep doing.”
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