CHILLICOTHE — Southern Ohio Crime Stoppers is marking the 21st year of the Officer Larry R. Cox Turkey Trot this Thanksgiving, and anyone who picks up a race packet this week will be entered into a free raffle for a 54-inch smart TV, the organization said in a Facebook post reported by the Scioto Valley Guardian on November 10.
The Thanksgiving morning tradition returns to Yoctangee Park on Thursday, November 26. The 5K run begins at 9 a.m., with a fun walk following at 9:15 a.m., according to the Scioto Valley Guardian’s report of the organization’s post. Registration costs $25 and is available online only through race sign-up sites, with no race-day registration offered.
Race packets can be picked up November 25 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the library’s Main Annex, located behind the main branch off Paint Street in Chillicothe, according to the post reported by the Scioto Valley Guardian. Picking up a packet is what enters a participant into the TV raffle.
The race honors Officer Larry R. Cox, a 19-year veteran of the Chillicothe Police Department who wore badge No. 21 and served as one of the department’s D.A.R.E. officers, the Scioto Valley Guardian reported, citing the Officer Down Memorial Page. Cox was shot and killed on April 21, 2005, at age 44.
Southern Ohio Crime Stoppers has hosted the memorial race every Thanksgiving since shortly after Cox’s death, dedicating it each year ‘in memory of our friend,’ according to the Scioto Valley Guardian. Last year’s running drew nearly 350 runners and walkers to the park, the Guardian reported from its previous coverage.
For Chillicothe families, the Turkey Trot has become the way Thanksgiving starts — a morning run or walk in Yoctangee Park that remembers a fallen officer while supporting Crime Stoppers’ work in southern Ohio. Organizers are hoping the raffle adds one more reason for first-time participants to join the regulars this year.
What happens next is packet pickup on November 25 and the race itself on Thanksgiving morning. Anyone planning to run or walk should register online in advance, since no registration will be taken on race day.