RP Thanksgiving Challenge

Go run

Thanksgiving is a time for food and family, but it’s also one of the best days of the year to run. This year we’re combining all three, beginning with a Flannery outing to one of our favorite trails before preparing our roasted veggie cornucopia. (I draw the line at Tofurkey. Hard pass.)  

There’s nothing like revving the metabolism in preparation for a day of feasting, which also makes Thanksgiving a great day for racing. If there isn’t a Turkey Trot in your hometown, there’s probably one not too far away. 

My first Thanksgiving race was in the fall of 2013 with Dom and Henry, a couple of teammates from the Dale Marsh Memorial Runners. We were fresh off a triumphant success in the River 2 Sea relay across New Jersey and feeling fit and frisky. 

Despite bitter cold and Dom’s insistence on running with a handmade turkey costume over his head, we swept the top three spots in our age group. You can take all the medals, race shirts, and commemorative hats you want, no running memento means more to me than this newspaper clipping: 

We were so young and fast once.

I didn’t race the following year due to a combination of injury and travel. That may have been a blessing in disguise because being inactive that time of year snapped me out of a rut and gave me motivation to resume training. 

Sure enough, we were back at it the next year, albeit a little slower and a little less frisky. (Well, not Dom. He still crushed it in his ridiculous turkey hat, as I recall.) Every year since then, I’ve made it a point to test myself in some way on Thanksgiving morning, either with races or solo adventures. 

Some highlights: 

• Turning around a not-so-good 5K with a quarter mile stretch of effortless flow that came completely out of nowhere. For the rest of the day, my wife kept asking me: “You seem happy. Are you Ok?”  

• Realizing the streets of Somerville were completely shut down for the 4-mile Gobble Gobble, and feeling total freedom as I cruised down the middle of what would have been a busy street with a closing kick that seemed to last forever.   

• Putting together a solo half marathon in the Blue Hills last year that was as satisfying as any race. It was on that run when I felt the final jolt of confidence to launch this newsletter. 

Whatever form it takes, there’s no doubt that a good run on Thanksgiving morning makes the rest of the day feel a little bit easier and a whole lot more relaxing than it might otherwise. And when it’s time for your meal, you can eat to your heart’s content because those calories won’t replenish themselves.  

So this year, I’m throwing out the Running, Probably Thanksgiving Challenge. Get out for a run. Enter a race if there’s still time. Go for a hike or a long bike ride. Bring the family, meet up with some friends, or just do it yourself. Tweet me your adventures @pflanns or holler in the comments. 

Apologies for the brevity of this week’s newsletter. The holiday season takes its toll on all of us. We’ll be back next Tuesday on our regular twice-a-week publishing schedule. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. May it be safe and full of good cheer and carbs.