The ‘Brawner Bunch’ Says The Family That ‘Wobbles’ Together, Stays Together

Meadow Pointe resident Keith Brawner wasted little time signing up for the first-ever Wiregrass Wobble Turkey Trot when he saw it was coming to Wesley Chapel.

On Oct. 8. 2013, he issued a challenge on Facebook:

“Hey, we signed up, who else wants to do this?”

Keith was ecstatic, however, when his entire family — and his wife Diane’s family, even some of those living out of state — took him up on his challenge.

“I knew this was something we had to do,’’ says Diane. “I used to live in Tampa Palms and I remember when getting a Super Target (in Wesley Chapel) was a big deal. I’m the one that always gets excited for new things, and when this came to Wesley Chapel, I was happy to have something for the community that we didn’t have to drive to Clearwater for.”

Five years later, the “Brawner Bunch” is now 15 strong, all signed up to run, walk and laugh their way Thanksgiving morning through the fifth annual Wiregrass Wobble Turkey Trot 5K Race and 1-Mile Fun Run at the Shops of Wiregrass.

“It has grown into a wonderful family tradition,’’ says Keith, who will be joined at the Wobble by Diane and their 7-year-old daughter Kaitlyn, who will try to run the mile by herself this year despite fighting the flu recently.

Kaitlyn was only three years old when she first took part.

“She would be on my shoulders as I ran, then I’d put her down and she’d run as far as she could, then she would go back on my shoulders,’’ Keith says. “But, she wanted to cross the finish line on her own.”

Kaitlyn, now a second-grader at Sand Pine Elementary, will have plenty of company, as cousins Caleb (13), Hunter (11), Kaden (9), Alex (9) and Austin (6) will join in this year’s festivities.

For Caleb and Hunter, and their parents Kevin and Kelly Brawner, they will be making the trip from West Memphis, AR, for their first Wiregrass Wobble.

Kaden will be driving down from Marion, AR, with Keith’s parents, Gary and Shiela. The trio has never missed a Wobble, and say they don’t plan to. In fact, Kaden’s parents are headed on a cruise this Thanksgiving, but given the choice, Kaden chose running in Wesley Chapel over saling the high seas.

“The first year, Kaden was just 4, so I’d carry him for most of it, but now he runs it,” said Gary, who is 63. “He’s faster than me now. My knees aren’t what they used to be.”

He adds that the Wobble has become a family tradition everyone looks forward to. Everyone wakes up in the morning, “eats a donut or something sweet to get some carbs in us,” and starts Thanksgiving Day out running. When the run is over, they all head back to Keith and Diane’s for some fried turkey.

Gary says the morning run is worth at least one, maybe two, extra slices of apple pie later. “Although really,” he said, laughing, “we should all be running after we eat the dinner.”

This year, Keith says he will be frying three turkeys — flavored with a Cajun spice injector — as additional family members who don’t run but come to cheer the others on will make for a packed house.

“Trust me,” Keith says, “fried turkey is the way to go.”

Diane’s mother Patsy, 72, will make the trip from Carbondale, PA, to run in the 5K, and Diane’s sister Dawn Zendegui, her wife Stephanie and their sons Austin and Alex complete the Brawner Bunch.

Diane, who describes herself as more of a “survivor of runs” than a runner, despite competing in the past in half-marathons and one full marathon, said previously that she ran the Wiregrass Wobble 5K to see what kind of a time she could post. Now, she focuses more on the fun aspect.

“Let’s put it this way — I won’t be setting any records this year,’’ Diane says. “This is a really nice way for my family and his family to come together. I never thought it would become what it has. It’s really just become a great tradition, right up there with buying the peanut oil for the turkey.”

All proceeds from the Wiregrass Wobble Turkey Trot events go to local charities, including FITNiche Foundation, Feeding America Tampa Bay, the Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel Foundation and the Rotary Club of New Tampa Foundation, which provides funds for 25 local charities. More than $110,000 has been raised since 2013, and nearly 7,300 people had participated in the event.

Race organizers are expecting their largest-ever field ever next week.

Those wanting to participate in the Wiregrass Wobble Turkey Trot can register at WiregrassWobbleTurkeyTrot.com. Pre-registration (by Nov. 22) is $35, and race day registration is $40.

There will be a 2017 tech shirt for all runners, ‘Ornamedal’ medals for all 5K finishers; school team competitions; Corporate & Friends & Family competitions and 1st-, 2nd- & 3rd-place awards for all 5K age groups; and all 1-mile Fun Run finishers will receive medals. The races will be accompanied by music and festivities, including a post-race party.