About 80 runners embraced the cold on Thanksgiving morning and gave back to the Troup County Homeless Coalition at the annual Turkey Trot hosted by Inner Path Yoga and Fitness Studio. Lisa Alford, owner of Inner Oath, said they have held the race for eight years, and instead of entrance fees, the yoga studio asks for donations to different causes.

“Every year we choose something to donate to, so it’s not a monetary registration,” Alford said. “This year we’re doing blankets for the [Troup County Homeless Coalition.]”

Alford said she started hosting the Turkey Trot after people would join her and friends on a Thanksgiving run.

“A few of us would do the Atlanta half and marathon on Thanksgiving day, and then one year we weren’t able to do it so we all decided to come up here and just run like a 6-mile run around,” Alford said.

The winners of the race receive plastic flamingoes dressed as pilgrims. This year, Jonathan Pelham, 21, and Betsy DeMoss, 26, won the annual race.

“We love the turkey trot,” Pelham said. “My family does it every year. It’s a lot of fun, and we enjoy coming out here every year. … It’s a good way to start the day.”

Pelham has won the race three times. This is the second year in a row that DeMoss has won. DeMoss said since she lives in St. Simons, she’ll leave her flamingo with her mother who lives in LaGrange.

“Me and my two sisters and my mom are all here, and we try to do it every year, so I think this is our fourth year,” DeMoss said. “I think that Thanksgiving is all about being thankful and there’s no better way to be thankful than by being generous and just providing for others.”