Just about any time that you can get 8000+ people together in one place, at the same time, during the holidays, well…you can pretty much expect a party.  So throw in some music & DJ entertainment, some free prizes & giveaways, and cool stuff to see & do, and what do you get?  The Turkey Trot Expo, of course!

Every year, on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, The Baum Opera House turns into the place to be.  This year is no exception.  Not only will we be distributing race packets from 11:00AM to 7:00PM, but we will also be doing much more.  For example...

Win Free Stuff

Throughout the day on Wednesday, we will be announcing several random prize drawings from our exhibitors and supporters.  These include:

• Runners Plus will be giving away one Runners Plus gift card every hour!  That's like 8 cards!  Plus one lucky winner will score a free pair of shoes ($100 value)! Register at the Runners Plus booth for a chance to win (upstairs, in the middle of the packet pickup area).
• Roderer Shoe Center will be giving away several pairs of shoes!  These include one pair of Newton running shoes (valued at $175), one pair of MBTs (valued at $245), and some Vibram Five Fingers (valued at $85 per pair).  Be sure to register for each of these separate drawings at the Roderer Shoe Center booth.  (This will be limited to in-stock inventory.  Please don’t ask them to special-order a free door prize.)
• Power Equipment Solutions will be giving seven “Got Golf Carts” t-shirts to seven lucky winners.  And one lucky winner will score a coupon for $50 worth of work in their service department!  Stop by the Power Equipment Solutions booth to register for these fun separate drawings.
• The Five Rivers MetoParks Outdoor Recreation Department will award one lucky winner with 50 “Adventure Bucks” – which can be redeemed for any of their outdoor programs, trips, or merchandise. And they will be drawing for a Gary Fisher collection TREK mountain bike!
• Donate a non-perishable food item to the Helping Hands Food Bank (at the ORRRC booth) and be entered to win one of two complimentary entries to the 26th Annual Jingle Bell Run on Dec. 3 at The Dayton Mall.
• Farmers and Merchants Bank will draw for a free picnic cooler.  Stop by their booth to enjoy some free hot chocolate and get registered to win.
• The Massage Room will draw to give away two free one-hour massage sessions.  Visit their booth to sign up.
• GetMooreFit will be giving away a box of Spark and a $30.00 gift certificate.  Stop by their booth to learn more.

All of our exhibitors have something great to offer, but be sure to catch these:

• Runners Plus will be collecting old lightly-used running shoes to be donated as part of the Soles4Souls program.  Bring your retired shoes to the expo and drop them off in the Soles4Souls bin, located in the Runners Plus booth (upstairs).
• The City of Miamisburg has partnered with the Nike Reuse-A-Shoe program to collect old beat-up running and athletic shoes that are too worn to be used by the Soles4Souls program.  So if you have old running shoes that are otherwise destined for the garbage, bring those with you.  You will find the Nike Reuse-A-Shoe bins in the Runners Plus booth (upstairs). If you are not sure which bin to use, just ask the Runners Plus staff for assistance.
• Free popcorn and beverages at the Farmers & Merchants Bank and ORRRC booths (downstairs).
• Shake hands, get an autograph, and pose for photos with our Turkey Trot mascot, Tom the Trotting Turkey.  Tom the Trotting Turkey will be on site from 4:00-7:00PM on Wednesday.  He will also be attending the race on Thursday.

Plus, all of our awesome exhibitors will be on hand to serve and enlighten you. This list includes:

1. Endurance Sports will be offering super specials on shoes and accessories and promoting Endurance Sports' 29th Anniversary Sale (which is going on from Tuesday, Nov. 22 through Sunday, November 27).  As always, they will be giving out free training tips to those that ask.  And their giveaway department will have Reflective "slap wraps" and running-inspired bumper stickers that state "Share The Road."
2. Runners Plus will be selling excellent cold-weather apparel & accessories (including discounted Turkey Trot running gloves from 2009) and select footwear, including the brand new styles from Asics and Brooks.
3. The Five Rivers MetroParks Outdoor Recreation Department is promoting the upcoming Adventure Summit - one of the largest outdoor expositions in the Midwest - featuring mountain biking icon, Gary Fisher.  The summit is held February 10-11, 2012 at Wright State University. Learn more at www.theadventuresummit.com. Stop by their booth and enter to win a Gary Fisher collection TREK mountain bike.  In addition you can pick up a buy-one-get-one-free skate pass for the Riverscape MetroPark ice rink.
4. The Ohio River Road Runners Club will be offering club memberships, sharing our extensive schedule of races and events, and selling old race shirts to raise money for our 2011 charity, the Helping Hands Food Bank (which provides food-only assistance to families in need who live within the Miamisburg Pubic School District).  We've managed to dig up an excellent assortment, including long-sleeve moisture-wicking tech shirts from the 2010 Turkey Trot, short-sleeve t-shirts from the 2011 Lou Cox 5k, and short-sleeve tech shirts from the 2010 Lou Cox 5k.  A minimum donation of $5 buys your choice of these fine items (while supplies last) and will go a long way toward helping some Miamisburg families in need!  The ORRRC booth will also be accepting non-perishable food item donations for the Helping Hands Food Bank too.  All who donate food will be entered to win one of two complimentary entries to the 26th Annual Jingle Bell Run on Dec. 3.
5. Farmers and Merchants Bank will be partnering with the ORRRC to provide free popcorn and beverages to all expo attendees and volunteers.  Please stop by the FMB and ORRRC booths to grab a snack and thank the FMB staff for their generous support of this year's event!  And sign up to win a free picnic cooler!
6. Roderer Shoe Center will be demonstrating and explaining some of the newest most innovative training footwear on the market, including the latest from Newton, MBT, and Vibram.
7. Power Equipment Solutions, a Vandalia-based dealer and service center for golf carts, utility vehicles, and all sorts of powered equipment, will be showing off one of their custom golf carts and answering your questions about utility vehicle and equipment solutions.  They will also be using one of their custom golf cart passenger trailers to provide sag wagon service to the 5-milers in Thursday’s race, so if for some reason, you are unable to finish under your own power, then you can hitch a free ride back to the finish.  And they are very generously providing one of their generators to supply power for our massive new outdoor sound towers at the start/finish line.  Please stop by their booth and thank them for their support!
8. Adventure Boot Camp for Women - a four week outdoor fitness program (indoor from November-April) that offers fitness instruction, nutritional counseling and motivational training - packed with fun and energizing activities designed to  help you elevate metabolism, reduce stress, and reach your fitness goals, all while having a lot of fun. Whether you want to lose weight to fit into that special dress, shed the extra pounds from a pregnancy, or just get fit before that special occasion, this is the program for you!
9. The Massage Room is a group of licensed massage therapists specializing in a variety of different massage modalities.  They will be offering on-site chair massage at the expo for $1.00 per minute and a coupon good for $10.00 off a 60 minute massage session. They will also be raffling off 2 gift certificates good for 60 minute sessions.
10. GetMooreFit is a health and nutritional company based out of Texas that has been in business since 1993.  Their product line includes over 80 products from Active, Trim Line, Performance Elite, and Core Nutrition.  They will be giving away a box of Spark and a $30.00 gift certificate.  Stop by their booth to learn more.
11. The Juice Plus booth focus is on helping others "Live Life To the Plus" by having the health to support their goals and lifestyle. They will provide education on the role of whole food nutrition in fueling the athlete's diet and how Juice Plus is a simple and clinically-proven way to add whole food based nutrition from 17 different fruits, vegetables, and grains in convenient capsule or chewable form to one's diet everyday.  Brochures and handouts will be available on Juice Plus and how to read food labels to make healthy choices. Free samples will include Juice Plus chewables and chocolate complete squares made from Juice Plus Complete.
12. Chuck Bridgman will be at The Expo to share his book, Ohio High School State Mile Champions - What They Did To Win The State Title.  The  book documents the Ohio High School State Mile and 1600m champions.  What they did, what they didn't do, how they trained, and how they raced.  No theories, no opinions.  Just the facts.  Just the truth.
13. Former Turkey Trot director, Mr. Denny Bennett will be offering his world-famous POWER BALANCE BRACELETS for improved balance.  Please visit his booth to hear what this is all about or to hear the history of the Turkey Trot logo turkey as seen on the 2011 shirt.  (Denny invented this logo back in the day.)

We are also very happy to announce that our DJ for both the expo on Wednesday and race day on Thursday is the nationally-renowned host of Icon Fetch, Mr. Tony Peters!

As you can see, this year's expo is stacking up as perhaps the best expo ever.  And even more great things are likely to be announced between now and then.  So please check here often to see the latest news.  And whatever you do, don't miss the 2011 Trot or the 2011 Trot Expo!  We'll see you there!