Thanksgiving Races

Intro

It’s Thanksgiving week and its quite literally my favorite holiday like legit favorite. I get to combine three of my favorite things together, family, running and eating…oh and watching football. There are some awesome races around little Rhody that anyone thinking of running should check out. This blog post highlights two of them and then I get into how I attack Turkey Day.

Family Turkey Trot

The Family Turkey Trot in Pawtucket is a race I am very familiar with. I’ve done it quite a few times and last year the race director made the course even better. Its super flat and straight forward. While it’s not the most scenic course ever, it is one of the quicker 5ks around. It’s also one of the more festive 5ks around you’ll see folks dressed up like turkeys, rocking turkey hats, wearing feathers and a bunch of pilgrims. The race director always does a good job of having enough facilities for runners and you’ll be able to snag some pre-thanksgiving bananas if you’re hungry after the race. Bonus here is if you’re a member of the Rhode Runner Running Club you’ll receive a discount to save yourself a few bucks on your entry, just check out your latest newsletter.

Newport Pie Run

The Newport Pie Run is a Rhode Island classic, it’s legit been around since I was born as this year is the 33rd annual. I haven’t run it since I was a youngster but Ray “the Razor” Sikorowicz does it every year and has himself a blast. This race covers 5 miles through lovely Newport and helps support the Newport YMCA, folks are encouraged to bring along non-perishable food items to support local food banks. At 5 miles this race is a good run for folks who are either training for a longer race and want to get a feel for a pace or are looking for a fun run where you won’t have to red-line the entire race. It’s super scenic and your funds will be used for a good cause.

My Approach To Turkey Day

I always have myself a good time on Thanksgiving morning running a local race, I’ll try to get a race in to make sure I won’t feel guilty chowing down later in the day. The way I approach the day is I try to do a race a little later in the morning. Why? Cause it’s a holiday and I want to sleep in. I’ll then make sure to eat a light breakfast like a bagel with PB or some oatmeal, I’ll head over to the race about an hour beforehand, warmup, look around and hope 🤞 I don’t see any fast college kids back for the holiday, I’ll hit the race pretty hard, cheer on my awesome teammates and head off to Thanksgiving dinner. I’ll hang out with the family try my hardest to avoid talking politics, chill out watch some football and relax. Overall its a great day.

Conclusion

The conclusion here is to not take racing on Thanksgiving Day too serious. My main goal that day is always to hang out with family, eat delicious food and relax. Us runners are lucky because we get to hang out with our awesome runner friends in the morning as well. IT DOES NOT GET BETTER.

Cheers,

Coach E