The J. Barry Dwyer Red Devil Turkey Trot returns to Chelsea High School on Saturday, November 21, with a 5K run, a 3K walk and a free 400 meter run for children. The 5K and the walk start at 10 a.m. on the track at Chelsea Memorial Stadium, 299 Everett Avenue. Online registration closes Friday, November 20, and tables for same-day registration open at 8:30 a.m. on race morning, according to the event’s registration page.
Proceeds go to the J. Barry Dwyer Memorial Scholarship and to the Chelsea High track, field and cross country programs.
The schedule for Saturday, November 21
- 8:30 a.m.: bib and T-shirt pickup; same-day registration tables open.
- 9:45 a.m.: children’s 400 meter run.
- 10 a.m.: 5K run and 3K walk start.
- 10:45 a.m.: awards ceremony for the 5K only, with overall, age group and team awards.
What it costs
The registration page lists these prices through November 20 and says the amounts shown include mandatory charges and fees:
- 5K run: $34.09.
- 3K walk: $28.74.
- Children’s 400 meter run: free.
Registration is online at the race’s Race Roster page. The page does not list a separate price for signing up on race morning.
The course
The 5K is certified by USA Track and Field and chip timed by Mercury Timing. The registration page describes the course as mostly flat, with a mild hill on the way out and back. Runners start on the stadium track, head south on Everett Avenue, turn left onto Carter Street, right onto Beech Street and left onto Spruce Street. From Spruce the course turns right onto Washington Avenue and continues onto Cary Avenue, goes left on Broadway to Webster Avenue, left on Webster and left on Clark Avenue back to Cary Avenue, then returns the way it came. The start and finish are both on the track.
That route crosses several busy streets on a Saturday morning. Neither the registration page nor the district’s announcement lists road closures or detours for drivers.
Who the race is named for
The race was permanently renamed for the late J. Barry Dwyer, who coached Chelsea High boys cross country in the 1970s and 1980s. His teams won several Commonwealth Athletic Conference championships, and the registration page calls that program one of the great dynasties in Chelsea High sports. Dwyer stayed involved with high school track and cross country long after he retired, the page says.
The scholarship in his name goes each year to a Chelsea High cross country or track and field athlete chosen for excellence in sport, character and leadership.
A contest among the schools
Chelsea Public Schools promoted the race in its November 13 weekly newsletter, which says the team award for the school with the most staff participation is back this year. The Hooks school is the defending champion. The newsletter says all proceeds go to the Dwyer scholarship fund and Chelsea High athletics.
The registration page lists four sponsors: Pet Supplies Plus, All In Energy, Kayem and Greg’s Auto.
What is not stated
- The price for same-day registration.
- Whether any streets on the course will be closed to traffic, and for how long.
- How many runners and walkers have signed up so far.
The race falls at the end of a busy week at City Hall. Our week ahead for November 16 to 22 has the tax rate hearing and the rest of the calendar. On Friday the district filled the Chelsea High gym for its first College and Career Fair of the year.