My kids joined me yesterday for The Flying Feather, a local Thanksgiving Day 4-mile race. We left the house a little later than I had planned and the traffic getting near the race was horrible! I was a little worried that we wouldn’t get to the start in time because the parking lot was 0.75 mile from the start. We made it about 10 min before the start. (I like to get to a race about an hour early.)

It was a little colder than I had hoped at about 35 degrees. (We’ve had some pretty mild temperatures lately.) As it got closer to starting time, the sky got progressively grayer and it felt as if it got colder. Shortly after the start, the kids decided to run (that was OK) and I walked with my friend Deb and her husband. He is not a regular walker so we were not expecting to set any world records. Because I had been sick for nearly a week and had not walked during that time, I was feeling a little weak and was not ready to walk super hard anyway. (Thank you for setting a reasonable pace, Jeff!)

Before the first mile it started sleeting. It didn’t last long and within a couple miles the sun came out and we almost felt too hot. That didn’t last long either and the sky got gray again.

We finished in a little over an hour which was fine. The kids had finished about 15 min before us and they came out to meet us we approached the end. We crossed the finish line, grabbed a small bagel and went straight to pick up a bottle of wine.

What I like about this race is that it is very family oriented, the shirts are pretty good (they were better in previous years), and adults get a bottle of wine!

However, because it is so family oriented, it is more casual than other races. The food (bagels and bananas) is set out before the race so a lot of people grab some before and after meaning that by the time I finish there is rarely anything left. But then again, because it is a casual race, I don’t really need the food afterward.

It was chillier after I finished and because my kids ran part of the way they had worked up more of a sweat and were getting cold waiting, so we left right away. Though the race does have shuttles to and from the parking lot (nice touch) we decided it would be quicker to walk. I think walking kept us warmer, too.

So, it was a nice race and it was a nice way to start a holiday devoted to eating lots of food!
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Note: I tried to take pictures, but I need a new battery for my camera. It doesn’t seem to hold a charge longer than just a couple of minutes.

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