The Stone Rabbit: The Turkey Trails 5K.......2016

Yesterday there was a fun race held at the Bass Pro trail area: The Turkey Trails 5k/10k .

Brenda had made these awesome tutus for a turkey trot she and her daughters did a couple of years ago. . .and she let us borrow them for our run!!

Here we are before the start of the race! Karen's dog, Gracie, also ran ....her very first official 5K!

L to R: Carol, Karen, Brenda, me and, of course, the beautiful Gracie!

It was the third time I've done this run since 2012. In fact, the very first time I ran it was where I met Karen!

I recall we were about a mile away from the finish line and I spied her ahead of me. I was (and still am) always on the look out for runners who might be close to my "olden age".... cuz there don't seem to be a lot of us! haha

Anyway, I spotted her and chased after her, but run as hard as I could, I couldn't catch her!! :)

I don't remember the exact words I used when I came up to her after we had crossed the finish line, but it was something like : "Uh.....do you live around here and would you like to be a part of a little group of older runners we're trying to get started?" And before she could say "no"...... I had her posing with me in our first "group" picture together!

It was a pretty cool morning that day in Novemeber 2012 . I wore long, floppy pants cuz that's what I had. I didn't do much cold weather running in those days. Boy has that changed!

The day of the Turkey Trails 5K in 2013 was REALLY COLD!!!

That year Mary was able to do the race.

It looks like I wore my floppy pants again. . .I still had yet to be a winter runner. . . so I hadn't invested in a wardrobe for that time of year.

November 2014......we did the Gobbler Grind 5K! That year it was (L to R) me, Karen, Mary and my daughter!

This race is held about 30 minutes away in a business district called Corporate Woods. I usually do a Mother's Day race in the same location and really enjoy the course.

In 2014 the weather was a lot warmer than the year before that!

That was the second time I'd done the Gobbler Grind. In Novemeber 2010, I ran it with my niece. It was my 2nd ever 5K!

It was a warm day that year, too!

I look back at those photos my husband took that morning and just can't believe how running has enriched my life so much. All of the wonderful people I've met and all of the fun experiences I've had. . .none of which would have happened without running!

Haha...and I look at those pants I was wearing. It was too cold for shorts (I thought....these days I would definitely been in shorts) and the only other long pants I owned (besides those "floppy" ones :) were the leggings I decided to wear. They were not made for exercise leggings, but regular pants that we used to wear with oversized long tops in the 90s!! Yes, they were vintage. . .and they kept sliding down. :)

Last year I didn't do a turkey trot as Karen, Verna and I ran a 1/2 marathon in November instead.

Looking at all of these fun photos from previous Thanksgiving themed races makes me determined to always do one from here on out! They are just a fun and relaxed event. Seriously!! How often do you see people decked out in turkey suits or turkey hats or turkeyish tutus like we had on?

It paid for us to don those tutus because, when it was time for judging the costumes for a prize, the race director announced everyone had won.......we each received a free entry for one of their future races!! Now that was FUN! :)

It was pretty nippy when the race started. Here we are huddled together just before we were off!!

So, fast forward to the end of the race!

Carol and I crossed the finish line together. I didn't realize anyone was taking photos....so that was a smile of pure joy AND. . . .

relief that it was over!! haha

This photo is a riot!! It shows Carol and I stopping our GPS watches and checking to see what our "race time" was!! That's still important, even when it's a "fun run"! :)

We received really nice long sleeved t-shirts and a colorful finishers metal for doing the race. . . . I was lucky enough to earn an age division metal, too! AND they were passing out yummy pumpkin pie at the finish line!!

I brought the pie home to share with THE STONE RABBIT. As we nibbled away on it, I was telling him all about the fun we had at the race. What's so neat about events like this one is there are so many walkers in attendance, too. It's a great addition to holiday traditions.....a little turkey trot 5k (or 10K) with your family and/or friends on a crisp fall morning in November!

He agreed. . .and thinks he'll get a few of his concrete yard buddies to try a little turkey trot around the neighborhood in honor of Thanksgiving!