The best way to celebrate Turkey Day!

When you think of Thanksgiving holiday traditions, you normally think of playing football in the yard, watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, cooking with the family, and more. But for my family, we do something a little different…

About five years ago, my mom and I began a tradition of participating in a annual Turkey Trot in our community. This Turkey Trot is a 5k/10k walk or run on the morning of Turkey Day! The beauty of this? You get to stuff yourself silly with all the Thanksgiving food you can imagine. #earnedit

If that wasn’t enough to convince you, here are 4 reasons you should run a Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving Day.

You’ll Start Your Day Off Right

Thanksgiving morning we wake up at 6am, have a light breakfast, lace up our shoes and hit the road! When we get to the race location, we check in, get our numbers and wait by the start line. Families gather around, a DJ’s playing music, and everyone is pumped to get started.

I’m from northern California and in November the mornings are pretty cold. Typically 30-40 degrees but sunny! We all have beanies, long sleeves and gloves on. Some families dress up as turkeys, wear matching tutu’s, full costumes and more. It’s hilarious. Once the race starts, my mom and I usually stay together the best we can. Which leads me to….

You’ll Get To Spend Quality Family Time

If you’re looking for a way to get your family to exercise together, planning something fun and exciting like a Turkey Trot could be your answer. What’s better than sharing your love for fitness with your friends and family? The great part about Turkey Trot’s is that they’re meant to be low key and fun so even if your mom and dad aren’t huge runners (or runners at all), they can still do the whole 5k, a little over 3 miles, and feel damn good about it! Because there’s nothing better than…. 

You’ll Get The Greatest Feeling of Accomplishment

If you’ve ever run a race before, you’ll know that feeling of running through the finish line is SO rewarding. You wipe the sweat off your face, grab a banana at the finish line and in this case, get back to the house and begin cooking for dinner! Apple pie and stuffing awaits….

You’ll Have The Best Post-Workout Meal

After running a 5k, your stomach is more than ready to eat all the festive food for the day. You’re so hungry after a race for a reason – you just put in WORK – and let’s face it, your Thanksgiving dinner is the perfect way to refuel. And in case you’re wondering, here’s why you should work on out Thanksgiving.

I encourage everyone to create a family tradition this Thanksgiving, whether that include some sort of fitness activity or any other activity to join your family and friends together. Consider researching or starting your OWN Turkey Trot for the holiday, because who doesn’t want to trot around like a turkey before you feast?? 🙂 

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