Yesterday’s race was the first time ever that I had a DNF (did not finish)… It was for a very good reason though, and if you stay with me for a few minutes, you’ll see why!
Last week Bill and I signed up for the 20th Annual Ashburn Farm 10K, a race that we’ve run about 10-15 times over the previous 20 years. This year they were expecting 2,700 runners to run in the 10K, 5K, and 2K races! The race is very family oriented, the course is quite easy, and it’s become a Thanksgiving morning staple for many local families.
Because I’m an over-achiever crazy, I often go out and run several miles before the race starts and always enjoy seeing the crews setting up for the race. It’s a part of my serene early morning Thanksgiving tradition that I always look forward to. Yesterday I ran seven miles as I watched the sun rise on a cold, but beautiful Thanksgiving morning.
On my way back home I ran past these two handsome fellows and my friend Leslie (the race director) took a quick picture of the three of us!
In order to tell you why I had a DNF yesterday, I have to go back to last year’s race when Julie told her brother that she would buy him a turkey costume if he would wear it in the 5K. He gladly obliged her, and was the hit of the race! Since I had signed up to run the 5K, I was able to be a part of their shenanigans and thoroughly enjoyed how much the spectators enjoyed seeing a turkey run by!
2012 Cruisers
Fast forward to this past Sunday when Daniel, our youngest son, decided that he would run in the race… dressed as a pilgrim! This year Julie got the honors of wearing the turkey costume, and almost as soon as we got to the race we saw another turkey and a chef. The turkey was Julie’s friend from grad school, Brett, and his fiance Michelle.
Next up we saw the Chick-fil-A cows and asked for a photo opp. Before we knew it other people were standing in line to get photos of these four very serious runners!
I had signed up to run the 10K with Bill and my best running friend Susan, but after seeing the excitement of Daniel, Julie, and Joseph, I decided that I had to run in the 5K with them!
While we ran, I did my usual “photo fartleks” by sprinting ahead so I could turn around and take pictures of the pilgrim chasing the turkey. Daniel came up with a great line that he shouted over and over much to the delight of the spectators, “Come back here turkey, I just want to talk!”
I crossed the finish line of the 5K in 29:58 (9:39 pace), but the time was unofficial. I realized toward the end of the race that the 10K and 5K runners were all finishing together and I didn’t want to throw off the timers with 30-minute 10K finish. I tore my timing chip off the back of my bib and gave it to a faster runner that was leaving the race and asked him to throw it away for me, so it wouldn’t go across the finish line with me. He understood what I was babbling about and said, “No problem.” Thus my DNF…
For your enjoyment, Julie and Daniel reenacted their little skit after the race! Believe me, it’s worth six seconds of your day!
After the race, some of the Cruisers came back to Bill’s and my house for our annual Thanksgiving morning post-race breakfast. Yes, of course I have a turkey pan that I used to make banana bread. I just forgot to take a picture of the finished product. We also had muffins, fresh fruit, mimosas, and coffee. What a fun way to start our Thanksgiving Day!
As with previous years, our race registration included a long-sleeved cotton race shirt.
I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!
- Questions:
- Have you ever run before a race to get a few extra miles in?
- Do you have a favorite Thanksgiving morning race?
- Did you run yesterday?
Hi Debbie, Can’t believe we didn’t get to see the Turkey and Pilgrim yesterday. I finished in 37:53 and Eric finished in 39:01, I think if my shoe hadn’t come untied(twice) I would have been even faster. Thanks for all of your training and encouragement for the last 6 months. See you Sunday and GO HOKIES!!!
Sorry we missed you and Eric, too! You had a great time. How do you feel today; are you sore? The pilgrim is! 🙂
Love the Turkey Trot pictures! I’m glad you had a great time!
Those costumes are hysterical and so is the video!! I saw one guy dressed in the same turkey costume and another guy running with a baster! I’d say you definitely had a good reason for a DNF!
Thanks! It was a very fun race!
Loved your Turkey Trot story! I usually run Charlotte’s SouthPark Turkey Trot 8K, but I just ran a half marathon blindfolded and have another half in two weeks, so I decided to take it easy on Thanksgiving. I ran my neighborhood 5K Turkey Trot with my brother and finished as the top overall female (22:58). My sighted guide from Thunder Road was the race director. He hooked me up with a sweet medal, an apple pie and a Thanksgiving candle for my efforts! 🙂
Congrats! I love the awards. What a great idea to give out pies on Thanksgiving!
What fun pictures! Looks like a great start to your Thanksgiving!
The race and breakfast make an already great holiday that much better! 🙂
That’s a great story/reason for DNF!! Looks like you all had a lot of fun!! I ran in a local 5k turkey trot yesterday. We don’t run it every year but out of the last 5 yrs my mom and I have ran it 3 times. Happy Thanksgiving!!
Happy belated Thanksgiving! I love hearing that other people start their Thanksgiving morning with a turkey trot, too! 🙂
amazing costumes!
🙂
Loved these photos and the associated stories, Deb!
To be honest…I don’t Turkey Trot. I stay home and help with Thanksgiving prep instead (my parents host every year, and I feel bad abandoning them!). Running was introduced into our household only as my sister and I got older, so we definitely weren’t raised on a TT Tradition.
However, I very frequently add some pre-miles to my races. I mean, who wants to do POST race miles, right???
In recent years I have started taking the day before Thanksgiving off from work so I can do the majority of my cooking that day. We love our new Thanksgiving morning traditions so much, that I’ll do whatever necessary to make them possible. Our guests don’t arrive until about 4 PM, so I still have much of the day to do the final prep work for our dinner; although this year I got a little behind and dinner was served about an hour later than I’d intended! Oops!
And yes, who wants to do post-race miles? 🙂
Hahaha that was awesome of Julie and Daniel! I can imagine them being a big hit – that would make me laugh if they went running by me. I did the Virginia Run Turkey Trot but only saw a few turkey hats. It was a nice way to start Thanksgiving and then get to stay warm inside and eat the rest of the day 🙂 Glad you guys had a good one!
Happy belated Thanksgiving, Becky!
You were absolutely right. That video was worth every second. My daughter watched with me and wanted to see the Hokie Bird again!
I love that Bean thought Julie was a Hokie Bird! You’ve trained her well. 🙂 Julie will be very flattered to hear that she was mistaken for such a fine looking mascot!
Awesome recap, the video is too funny! The previous post with photos from the 90’s was really neat and it is amazing how the race has grown!
Thanks, Brett, for stopping by my blog!
That sounds like a pretty good reason to DNF. Good thing you remembered about your chip or you would have had some explaining to do 🙂 I love Julie and Daniel’s costumes and his shouting at her! I can imagine the laughs they got throughout the race! Next year Daniel should invest in an over-sized foam fork and knife to hold up while chasing Julie. I ran the Drumstick Dash 5K in Roanoke for the third year in a row. It is becoming a Thanksgiving tradition. Dad came, too, to watch me run and take pictures. That is also becoming a tradition 🙂
I have run before a race to get in extra miles…. and after a race, too! We did that extra mile together to total 14 after the Hokie Half and then Barry and I did 6 miles before the Virginia Ten Miler to total 16 miles that day. I definitely prefer running before a race to running afterwards.
I love how your dad supports you in your races! 🙂 Of course, since he supported my son (Joseph) in his ultra, I’m not surprised!
As I wrote that question, I thought of our extra mile after the Hokie Half!
Looks like you guys had a blast! i think your reason for DNFing was pretty good 🙂
Hope the rest of your Thanksgiving was as fun as the start of it!
Once, during training, I had a 12 mile run scheduled when I was supposed to run a 10K. I ran 3 miles to the race, raced, and then ran 3 miles home. It was perfect.
That video made me smile. 🙂
We runners do what we’ve gotta do to get our miles in! 🙂
[…] In 2012, Julie’s brother David wore a turkey costume for the first time. Then in 2013, Julie wore the turkey costume, and our son Daniel wore a pilgrim costume. Not ones to miss out […]
[…] Thanksgiving morning we ran in the annual Ashburn Farm Thanksgiving Day 5K and 10K. It was hilarious watching Daniel chase Julie while shouting, “Come back here […]