Our Towne Bethlehem Turkey Trot 5K Race Report

Nov 24, 2011

This is the 2nd year for this race. Last year, it was pretty unorganized and many more runners signed up than expected. There are several turkey trots in the area with the big one being in Troy. Most of the elites run that one.

Things have changed a lot in one year. Last year, I was only running 5ks and my goal was to get faster. This race was and still is my fastest 5K at 27:30.

This year, after an achilles injury, 5 Half Marathons and a 15K under my belt, fast I am not. But that’s ok.

This race also is being run on a different course. (It may be the same 5k course as my first race!!)

Knowing many runners who were signed up for this race and it being so close to home, I was excited to run this race!!

It was pretty chilly…in the 30s!! I decided to wear some layers and as much orange as I could find.

I was wrong about this year being more organized. They had ONE line to pick up your bib and it took forever. I was glad I was there early. I bumped into running friends Janis & Bridget and then I found my good friend MaryPat.

me & MaryPat

When it was finally time to start, we tried to squeeze into the crowd. Unfortunately, this race was not chip timed. When the gun went off, it took awhile to get to the start (at which point I started my Garmin) and then it was really hard to weave through the crowd.

Delmar is pretty flat so my mind said “PR” but my body had something else in mind. I was fine during the first mile but then I slowed and slowed. (Yes, this seems to be a pattern.)

I crossed the finish line a little over 28 minutes but according to my Garmin I finished in 27:58. (I didn’t stop it immediately so maybe a few seconds less.)

I hung around waiting for MaryPat to finish. I bumped into 2 more tennis acquaintances also while I was waiting.

Here comes MaryPat!

They were only giving out awards for the top finishers and the refreshments were water & Freihofer’s cookies so we left and went to Dunkin Donuts. It seemed that everyone there had come from the race. We chatted for awhile over a latte & a bagel before heading home.

I was cooking a turkey dinner for my hubby & myself and then going to a friend’s for dessert.

I love starting Thanksgiving Day with a race. I am happy with my time. It was faster than the last 5K I did! There’s always room for improvement!! (Tomorrow is another 5K race.)

Hope you had a