You know how they say there are two types of families — ones who run 5Ks on Thanksgiving and ones who have fun instead? Well, my family is both of those. We know how to stay active and have fun even on holidays. And believe it or not, running a Turkey Trot 5K on Thanksgiving morning is actually kind of fun.
Our town, Henderson, KY, has had an annual Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot for 19 years. The race goes around the beautiful downtown Henderson. Every year, it seems like there are more and more families who come participate. This has become a tradition for my family as well as many other families. My family hasn't done all of them, but we've done a lot of them. It's so much more than just a race to us, it's a way to get the community all together during the holiday season. Seeing how much fun everyone has with their families and friends make waking up at 8:30 in the morning on a holiday worth it.
Each year, it's my family's goal to run the whole 5K without walking, and last year we actually did it and ran the whole thing. My family is always doing something fun to challenge ourselves to stay on track of our healthy lifestyles. Growing up, my parents taught my sister and me the importance of staying healthy but also having fun.
The Turkey Trot is my favorite tradition we have as a family because it is always a challenge for us to run the whole thing, but we always have a good time before, during, and after the race.
My mom always makes orange sweet rolls on the mornings of any holiday. On Thanksgiving, though, she transforms these sweet orange rolls into cute turkeys with bacon as the feathers and chocolate chips as the eyes. After the race, my family and I always enjoy our breakfast with a hot cup of coffee and sit around the kitchen table and talk until it's time to get ready for dinner with our family. From doing something as active as running to being lazy just sitting around chatting, my family has the best time together.
Being able to laugh and be active with my family is something I hope to carry out to my future family. This year, I know it won't be any different when we run the 2019 Turkey Trot. My family's motto is "we run so we can eat more." There is no shame in running the morning of Thanksgiving just to be able to double the amount in turkey