Runtastic THANKFUL

I’ve run this 5 times now and always love it as a better than average turkey trot. Runtastic always puts on a great race and they’ve substantially improved the course each year. It can be cold as he** so plan for that. Parking is exceptional so you can sit in your car till the last minute and then run across the street to line up. It can be a bit crowded at the start as you run through the golf course with the risk of ice on the path but then you pop out onto the river trail and you should be fine. Some minor hills as you go along into the neighborhoods. No traffic (it is Thanksgiving morning after all). Plenty of water stops (god love the people standing around in the cold on Thanksgiving). Love the gratitude signs, make you think about what you should be thankful for. Final mile has a bit of an uphill, sometimes with wind but as you pull into the finish, there is chocolate milk, water, Powerade, pie, rolls…and the medals are always over the top, especially if you Trilogized and if you place, you get an even cooler AG medal. Expo can be a bit of a cluster because of the number of races they have but the location is easy to navigate and there is plenty of parking, but GO EARLY. You do not want to be on the highway at rush hour on the day before Thanksgiving. Trust me!

I’ve run this 3 times now and always enjoy the opportunity for end of the year swag. It can be crowded at the start as you work your way out of the golf course. You jump up onto the Jordan River Parkway which is a nice winding path along the river. There are climbs that are short but can hurt if you don’t plan accordingly. Coming back, the last mile is flat but there is nearly always a head wind or tail wind on the first half and the opposite on the second half (you cross a bridge and then run back the way you just came from to get to the finish). Be prepared! The medals are awesome, the food is incredible. Love the AG awards. Will always run this one if I’m available!

I love Runtastic Events–they put on a great production no matter which race you run. I tend to volunteer at the Thankful 13 (every hour you volunteer is an 20% off a race!!) and did again this year at Packet Pickup. This also is a good opportunity for me to appreciate what it feels like when there is a crowd at the table and the volunteers are going as fast as they can…calm down people! Don’t shout out your numbers, hand them to me so I can read them (ps, please write legibly and preferably in numeric order if there is more than one!!). After 6 hours of volunteering, I went home to sleep before the race. A huge snowstorm was headed in so I didn’t know what to prepare for. Next morning, it was cold and snowing in parts of the valley but not at the race start (just snow showers). You can hang out with the heaters and fire pits in the garage until race time which was nice. The race starts out in Thanksgiving Point and then winds its way through the golf course before connecting to the Jordan River Trail. This is wonderful because it’s paved, scenic and relatively flat (some tough, short inclines were icy so you had to go slow). As you start, the crowd thins (this is a huge race since there is a distance for the whole family, there are lots and lots of people). Running along the river is quiet and pretty. There are dozens and dozens of thankful signs which are nice distractions and humbling to read (“Thankful for a cancer free year” made me tear up…wow I have it easy). You come off the trail to run through some quiet neighborhoods and since it’s Thanksgiving morning there is hardly any traffic at all. After a few miles in the neighborhoods, you rejoin the Jordan River Trail and head back. There are some underpasses that were a little icy so you had to be careful. I made the mistake of worrying too much about wet feet and chose to run in trail shoes which beat the crap out of my feet since I was running on pavement. There is a small segment of the JRT trail that you double back on (it’s sort of a squished figure 8 course with a stick in the middle that is out and back) and then you veer across the river to make it to the finish line. We were lucky and it was only snow showers and cold but not freezing cold…until literally the last 0.2 miles. Uphill into a head wind…ooph! Cross the finish line and get an incredible medal (Runtastic does the best medals!). Hot chocolate, rolls and pumpkin pie were waiting in the garage out of the wind. Age group winners (yea!) got another huge medal and a turn on the podium (it’s the little things that make me happy!). Overall winners took home Thanksgiving feasts. Parking is abundant and free–all the businesses in the area are closed for Thanksgiving so literally you could choose just about anywhere and you were in easy walking distance of the start/finish.

I can’t say enough great stuff about Runtastic Races. If you can’t run them, volunteer…these ladies run a great show. And check out their Black Friday pricing! You can buy a pass to ALL their races at a huge discount, or buy a trilogy pack (they have special medals for those who run 3 in a calendar year).