GDTC Thanksgiving Turkey Trot
Derry, NH
Nov 28, 2024
- 5K, Kids Run
- Road (Paved)
- Official race website
The GDTC Thanksgiving Turkey Trot is a certified 5k (3.1 miles) course. The scenic course takes you clockwise around the residential roads of Beaver Lake, a highly sought after residential location in Derry. The course has several scenic vistas and has been really beautiful in the past when accompanied by … MORE
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Last year I did the Fisher Cat's Thanksgiving Race in Manchester, NH. I liked but didn't love that race so decided to try a different turkey trot this year. I … MORE
Last year I did the Fisher Cat’s Thanksgiving Race in Manchester, NH. I liked but didn’t love that race so decided to try a different turkey trot this year. I decided on this one as it is another big race (though not quite as big as the Manchester one – I actually though this race was perfect sized) and is about 5-10 minutes closer to me. Overall there were some things I liked better and some things I liked more about this race. There was good pre race communication. There were options to get the packet before the race or race day. I got it Wednesday evening before the race. One of the main reasons I took a sneaker off production is packet pick-up was very inefficient. There was not a very long line but it took like 15 minutes to get my packet. They had the lines divided in 2 but as this is a fairly large race with close to 1000 runners the volunteers had to read though a very long list to find our names. I think maybe pre-emailing bib numbers or a bib lookup or dividing it into smaller lines may have been more efficient. After you got the bib you got the shirt. The shirt is a long sleeve tech shirt with a thanksgiving design. It is an exceptionally nice shirt for a 5K and nicer than some of my half marathoner shirts. If you want to do this race try to sign up on time for the shirt. Race day morning went smoother than packet pick-up. For the race there is limited parking near the start/finish or you can park at a nearby school and take a shuttle. I parked at the school and did the shuttle. The shuttle was very well-organized and efficient. Made up for the slow packet pick-up. It was a few minute drive and we were dropped off. One negative a bit outside the race control is the weather was pretty bad today. Luckily it was better in the morning than later in the day but it was drizzly rain and there was not a lot of indoor areas to hang out in by the start/finish area. It was otherwise set up well with booths and porta potties. While overall production of the race was good, I did think the start could be a bit better. The start is on a road that does not close until right before the race so about 10 minutes before the start we all lined up on either side of the road and then right before it started went on the street. The issue was there was no instructions or signs to line up by pace. For a big race this caused a lot of congestion in the beginning. The streets though were wide and mostly closed off. The race was very well marked and had mile markers and an aid station with water in the middle. The course is really beautiful with lots of views of the lake. This was definitely a much more scenic course than the one in downtown Manchester. The course is hilly though especially in the middle. It’s a road 5K so it’s not that hard but this isn’t a great course for a PR especially with maneuvering around people. I was dealing with a mild cold this week so wasn’t able to give it 100%. I just set a goal to finish under 40 minutes and I did that. There are tons of back of packers so it was fine having a slower race. There is no medal as expected in New England for a 5K. You are given a bottle of water at the finish. The finish area was nice and there was a great selection of post race food including treats from Dunkin’s and Panera along with bananas and packets of hummus and chips. The shuttle back to the school was also quite quick. I timed it badly and just missed a shuttle but I only had to wait a few minutes for the next one. Overall this was a good race. Some aspects such as the scenery, course markings, post race food, and race shirt were excellent but a few details such as more efficient packet pick-up and better organized start could be improved to make it a 5 sneaker race. I would consider doing this race again but I may also try another Turkey Trot since there are so many to choose from.