Sports
Local Runners Challenge Themselves in Turkey Trot
The RidgeRunners Club Turkey Trot race takes Patch contributor and race director running down memory lane.
On Nov. 20, unusually warm weather and a festive turkey mascot greeted runners and walkers of all ages at the RidgeRunners Club annual Turkey Trot 10K Run and 5K Fitness Walk.
The event attracted 116 race contestants to the Lake Ridge Parks and Recreation Association headquarters on Oakwood Drive in a pre-Thanksgiving feast caloric meltdown.
Several participants welcomed the return of this decades-old local race, last organized in 2008.
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The RidgeRunners have always congratulated all finishers for braving a course that has often been described as “brutal.” This word can be easily translated to “hills.”
Although I fully confess that running uphill is not my forte, the Turkey Trot holds particular meaning for me as it was my first venture into racing the 10-kilometer distance.
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I remember the feeling of euphoria running down the last stretch of Oakwood Dr. (one of the only consolations after a punishing series of steady climbs) and I was reminded of the particular joys that running brings: a sense of freedom, the victory of mind over body, and the knowledge that, as exciting and frightening as the prospect seems, a longer distance now awaits to be conquered.
On Sunday, I had the pleasure of being at the finish line, witnessing the emotions and virtues of several participants: the easy happiness of overall winner Nick Eghtessad, 17; the hard determination of female winner Katherine Petway, 15; the pure, unadulterated joy of Odori Pendleton, 30; or the wise experience of Robert Gurtler, 76, among many other memorable finishers.
The RidgeRunners invite you to visit their website to view their running schedule and upcoming events as well as relevant information pertaining to membership. To view race results, click here.
[A historical note: In the United States, one of the first Turkey Trot footraces took place in Buffalo, N.Y., in 1896. Though the expression “turkey trot” originated in England 300 years ago when turkey farmers walked their fowl (in little booties no less) to the stalls of the London Market, the term now refers to thousands of American racing events taking place in November.]
