A New Thanksgiving Day Tradition

By , SparkPeople Blogger
What are your first thoughts when you hear the word Thanksgiving? Does it conjure up visions of turkey, stuffing, pies, and special memories with family, and friends? What about starting a new tradition this year?

New York City has the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, but many cities across the U.S. are now hosting what is becoming a new family tradition--participation in the local Annual Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot.

When I started doing a little research on the history of the Turkey Trot, I discovered that Cincinnati, home to SparkPeople, holds the 6th oldest Thanksgiving Day race event in the country. This year the city will be hosting its 99th Annual 10K Thanksgiving Day race. The race crosses over the Ohio River into Kentucky and back into Ohio. How cool to run in two states all before the big feast!

If you are curious as to which city holds the oldest record for hosting a Turkey Trot event; well that honor goes to the great city of Buffalo, New York. They will host the 113th Annual Turkey Trot this year. Henry A. Allison and five of his running pals scurried through the streets of Buffalo on Thanksgiving morning 112 years ago as part of the inaugural Turkey Trot. This event even supersedes the Boston Marathon as the oldest road running event in the U.S. Last year the race had over 8,000 willing participants to don running gear in keeping with tradition.

Just in case you are wondering how to burn off lots of calories, check out the Atlanta Marathon and Half-marathon. One of the oldest marathons in the country, this event was moved to Thanksgiving morning in 1981 and has been a fixture in the Atlanta running community for well over 27 years.

This year my family and I will head to Downtown Dallas to participate in one of the largest Turkey Trots held in the country--The 41st Annual Capital One YMCA Dallas Turkey Trot. For the past 3 years my family and I have walked and ran with over 30,000 of our closest friends and family. It has become a great family tradition we look forward to each year.

So if you are looking to start a new Thanksgiving Day tradition, I highly recommend you visit your local running store or check out the Active.com site to locate a walk in your neck of the woods. And if there isn’t one close to you, consider starting your own family Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot with your family and friends.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Would you consider participating in a Turkey Trot? Have you participated in one in the past? Do you have any other Thanksgiving Day traditions to share with us?

Photo Courtesy of Nancy Howard at the 2006 Dallas Turkey Trot