Arley Kemmerer’s professional cycling schedule normally kept her from participating in the annual Bo Tkach Foundation Turkey Trot through downtown Palmerton on Thanksgiving. So when the class of 2002 Palmerton alumna took to the course for the first time Thursday morning, she made the most of it, finishing as top overall female in the 5K with a time of 21:40.

“Growing up here, I know the Tkach family and I figured this would be a good time to come and check it out, see everybody and it turned out great,” Kemmerer, a local attorney, said. “I have not had the opportunity to see how involved the community is in this race and to see all the people out along the course cheering, it’s awesome.”

Branston Duffy was the overall top finisher in the race. He crossed the finish line in 17:14.

Thursday marked the seventh race to benefit the foundation, awareness of mental health issues while providing essential funding for youth programs, scholarships and otherwise inaccessible mental health screening and treatment.

After the race was postponed due to COVID-19 last year, Jim Tkach, foundation co-founder, said he was thrilled to see nearly 900 participants take part in the event.

“It was just outstanding,” Tkach said. “I think our numbers are going to be our largest yet. I didn’t know if it would be this big. I didn’t know what to expect. And just the fact that people that donated and helped, we were we were just overwhelmed with the amount of people who wanted to help and get the thing going.”

Since its inception in 2008, the foundation has invested over $366,922.25 in local communities.

“It really is humbling when you see what good things people will do for others,” Tkach said. “There’s no prosthetic for a broken spirit. And that’s what we’re trying to do here. We’re trying to get people to really take care of each other and help each other.”

The race, which has consistently grown in participants, has become a Thanksgiving morning tradition for many. Kemmerer, for one, is glad to see it.

“It’s nice that we have something like this going on in Palmerton,” she said. “We didn’t have this type of event, something that really brings everyone together, growing up. It’s pretty cool to see.”

Pretzel City Sports out of Reading was in charge of the timing.

Full results can be checked out on its website at www.pretzelcitysports.com.