Glen Arbor Turkey Trot 5K The Glen Arbor Turkey Trot is one of my favorite races of the year. It’s a fund raiser for the schools’ cross country programs. After the 5K, while there is an audience, the students receive awards and accolades. Thank goodness the race has a 10:00 AM start time. DW and DDs 1, 2 &3 were headed out of town for a shopping weekend. The pup, Tag, spends too much time alone, so he was my support crew. His crate was in the back of the truck just incase I could not find a puppy sitter among three dozen female spectators at the race. The weather boasted a snow and rain mix, so I wore a black ribbed Batman tank top. Grey and black running pants with matching leather gloves a Batman Baseball cap and fog resistant sun glasses. Since it was a turkey trot, pre-race meal was poultry and laxatives. After several delays, the dog and I were on the way. We got to the school with 15 min to spare. As I didn’t reregister, there wasn’t much time to stretch. As I was toting a babe magnet, I didn’t have much time to register. Rodney, Greg, Kris, and Rodney’s DW, Kathy was there. As well as a number of other familiar faces. This is one of the few races that encourages bringing pets. One runner told me he’d carry the dog if we ran together and the dog got tired. The course is two loops and Tag is good for at least 1 ¼ miles. He’s about 10 lbs and I figured I could carry him when he got tired. There were two awards available at the race, first over all in both sexes. Greg and Rodney are crazy fast and there was one guy there who always beats both of them. As simple as that, I had a running partner. At the start, Tag and I went to the back as well as other runners who brought dogs. Kris had her dog, a Yellow Lab named “Guinness”. Oh the butts to sniff and legs to….well, you know. Tag had fun too. “On your mark! Get set! GO!!!” We were off. Tag bolted and surprised me. He was focused and ran all out. He passed two other dogs, both young adults and over 60 lbs. Tag passed Guinness in a comical puppy dash. Then Guinness trampled him. It made me think of Mustang Sally. Part way through the first loop, the puppy nature took over. “Oh what’s that smell?”…..”Hey! A leaf!”. Then we’d see runners and then the dog would want to catch up to them. He befriended one little girl in blue and red. After a time, we’d pass runners, get to the top of a hill or a corner, and Tag would want to stop and wait for them to catch up. Especially the little girl in blue and red. I Asked my self, “What would the Green Hornet do?”. Well, Kato wasn’t going to save me. I picked up the pooch and trotted along. The dog started to get shook up. I tried to make the strides gentle. At a hair pin turn, a supporter said she hold the pup and take him to the finish. Wimmen are kewl. I was able to pick up the pace again and finished the first loop in just over 20 min. The 2nd loop was more of the same, however, I was able to pass people who had passed me earlier. Sweet. The last stride along the football field was a great opportunity for long strides that simply felt great! A sprint to the finish shoot reunited Tag and I and ended the race with a time of 34:44. How we finished over all, I’ll never know. I may have set a new PR for jumping over my partner’s leash while he cuts me off. In the past, only the top two female and male finishers got hardware. This time was different. The youngest and oldest finishers also got hardware. Tag’s friend, the little girl in blue and red was the youngest finisher. The lady who was the oldest finisher threatened the RD with a stick. The raffle is the best I’ve ever seen. About ½ the finishers got a turkey, the others got shirts. As it was DD#3’s birthday, she got a long sleeved t shirt with the schools’ logo on it.

Good job Steve...sounds like you were a winner

It seems kinda early for a turkey trot, though, doesn't it?

When you gotta go, you gotta go!

Quite an adventure for both you and Tag! Thanks for the kewl report.

Sounds like you had alot of fun Steve, and a new PR for leash jumping too! I do have to agree with Carolyn, when I first saw this I thought...isn't it a little early for a Turkey Trot?

Steve.. You need to run a race every week-end so I can read your hilarious reports. We'll have to arrange a grudge race...Tag vs. my 13-lb. shi-tzu man-eater Billy Bob. Another fabulous report...thanks. DickyG

It seems kinda early for a turkey trot, though, doesn't it?

The rest of the running world is on a slower clock