Turkey Trot

Yesterday, I walked in my third hometown Turkey Trot--the annual Thanksgiving day 5K walk and 5 or 10K run. The race follows a road that hugs the Lake Erie shoreline at Presque Isle State Park, and that is its biggest draw, as far as I'm concerned. I love the lake, and I never feel that a visit to Erie is complete without an up close visit. The other draw is the exercise on a day when my calorie count is likely to be nearly as big a number as the national debt. This year I went with my brother-in-law, Frank, and my nephew, Andy. My niece, Maria, usually joins us, but she was down with a virus. Frank and Andy ran the 5K while walked. Here are some pre-race shots.















That's Andy next to banana boy. I'm always amused by the costumes and hats that the more eccentric runners and walkers wear on race day. Here's a guy in a pair of pink foot pajamas, for instance.



Of course, there were an endless variety of turkey hats on display.



My favorite eccentrics yesterday were the two guys who walked the entire 5K on six-foot stilts. I couldn't get a good shot, but this gives you an idea.



I had a pretty good walk. I have plantar fasciitis in both feet and arthritis in both knees, but I keep on moving. I walk most every day, so it's not like the 3.1 mile walk was anything extraordinary. Doing it with a few thousand people is a challenge, though.



My aches and pains slowed me down this year, but I was motivated by a father and son who seemed to walk beside me for a good portion of the second half of the race. I'd pass them then fall behind over and over again. On two of my passes, I heard the father say, not-so-silently to the son, "pick up the pace! Even the grandmothers are passing us.". Grandmother? Please!


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