Since I started running nine years ago, if I wasn’t out of town or traveling on Thanksgiving day, I have been out at the local Thanksgiving day run burning a few calories before the big feast of the day. This is the perfect way to make sure you still get your workout in before you stuff your face full of food. I know it at least made me feel better in my mind for having gotten at least a 10k run in. I have been thankful for being able to run these races over the years.
When we moved to Oregon over a year ago, I was sad that I wasn’t going to be partaking in the Huffing for Stuffing Thanksgiving day race in Bozeman. I was always sure to run into some friends, probably freeze my tush off, drink some warm coffee, donate a few canned goods, and eventually warm up somewhere during the halfway point of my run. We ran in below zero temperatures one year and another year we ran in fifty degree temperatures. You never knew what the race conditions would be like until about a week before. It was part of the fun having ice one year and it being warm the next. It added to the memories of the race.
Now, after we moved, I quickly got on the internet and started searching to find the closest run on Thanksgiving day and found one about a thirty minute drive down the Gorge. I was happy to have found another race. This Turkey Trot (benefits Mosier Schools) has a completely different feel than the Huffing for Stuffing (benefits the food bank). Huffing for Stuffing has a few thousand runners and The Turkey Trot has only about a few hundred if even that many. That one thing right there explains most of the differences. I didn’t run into anyone I knew (not that I know too many people still). It will most likely be slightly rainy and probably in the 40’s almost every year. It is on trail with views of the Gorge and some fall colors still surrounding the view.
This year was no different. It was a slightly rainy start that turned into a beautiful morning and day. The hubby wasn’t feeling well, so he walked the 5k with my mom and the little man while my sister and I ran the 12k. I loved the slightly hilly run and it made for a great way to start the holiday. I am so thankful that I am able to run these events. They help to get me back into the running mood and to remember where I have been in the last year for running. I was also so very thankful for my sister to have been running it with me this year. She surprised me and showed up at my house on Tuesday afternoon. That made this run even more special. I just love getting out there and running. I hope you will take the time to search for your local Thanksgiving day run, support a local cause, burn some calories, and then stuff your face.
Tell Me Tell Me
What is one of your Thanksgiving Day traditions? Do you get out and run even if it isn’t a race?