Trotting with 10,000 Turkeys

Despite living in the area for 25 years, this is the first year I have ever run the largest Charlotte area Turkey Trot, the CPI Security Charlotte Turkey Trot. As I have mentioned a number of times here and on social media, I coach with the local Fleet Feet Sports here in Fort Mill, SC and this Fall, I trained the Turkey Trot group. This was a crazy fun group of about 20 runners, half training for the 8K distance, the other half for the 5K. So, as any good coach would, I had to of course be there on race day, so this was the year. 

While not the largest race I've ever run (that honor was the Cooper River Bridge Run) it was one of the largest, especially for this area that I have run. The race caps at 10,000 and sold out this year, but don't let that scare you, it was crazy well organized and it honestly didn't feel any bigger than other area races. Well, I can't say that completely, but well, I'll get there. 

Less than beautiful day to
pick up a packet outside

First of all, you get not just 1 or 2 days to pick up your packet, but WEEKS! Packet pickups can be done well in advance at a variety of locations all over Charlotte, which I will say, is awesome for the convenience, but does make it so that there is not really an Expo style pre-race event. You can even pay for day of event pick up for a bit more money when you register. I picked up my packet at one of the last pick up options which was at Symphony Park, where the race was held. It was raining that day, but the pick up was covered and I walked right up to the table, gave my info and was issued my bib, given a post-race beer ticket and my shirt. The shirts were long sleeve cotton T-shirts, not my favorite race shirts, but still a nice shirt. I wore it after I was showered post-race, but will probably not keep long term. I get so many race shirts each year, I typically on keep either really cute ones and/or tech shirts. 

How cute are my ladies here?!!

There are 2 distances for the Charlotte Turkey Trot, the 8K and the 5K. I was registered for the 8K. The 8K started at 8:10 am and before the race, there were lots of tents set up and vendors with coffee. There were also LOADS of potties. The 8K had the fewer participants and was an hour earlier than the 5K, so when I arrived there was plenty of places to park (race was next to South Park Mall and all their decks were open since the mall was closed for Thanksgiving). I found the Fleet Feet tent and took some pre-race pictures with the ladies who were running the 8K also. There was a costume contest and these ladies were dressed to impress. Me, I was cold which always makes me less festive. I was able to walk around a bit, go to the potty and get into a corral with plenty of time. There were 2 corrals, one for walkers and one for runners. When the race started, they let the whole runner side go first, then the walker side. This was repeated for the 5K and hour later.

Fred got him a shiny new PR!!

The course was a good one, fairly standardly hilly for a Charlotte race. While this was my first Charlotte Turkey Trot, I had run another race at this location (Charlotte Racefest) before so I knew what to expect. My only complaint was that there was no aid station on the 8K course until almost mile 4, and just the 1. Had I known, I would have carried water. The aid station seemed to be a bit past the halfway point for the 5K, which would have been fine, but for the 8K, it made for a long almost 4 miles. Also, right before the water station, was a Apple Pie Shots station, but I don't know if that was organized by the race, or just some kind souls who wanted to spread some cheer. I don't usually partake during a race, but this time, I did! I ran most of the race with a friend of mine who had told me what his PR for this course was and I realized pretty quickly that he would be shattering that number, so that was awesome to see. I was pleased with my time (9:10 pace) even if it wasn't a PR for me. My running has been a bit off this year for a number of reasons and I was just glad to have fun at a race.

I was able to run the 8K and get back over to the start before the 5K started. So here is where I kinda went back and forth on what I should be writing here as what I did next was technically not something allowed. Full disclosure, reader, I did something I have never done before... Y'all I bandited a race. 

I even took a pic the 2nd
time through!

The original plan was for me to pace my sole 5K runner that was running the race but with so dang many people I couldn't find her! I resigned myself to just watching and cheering at the start, but then a friend of mine was texting me his location and when he was gonna cross the start and I made the choice to hop in and pace him. I did not cross the start, and I exited the course before the finish. I did not take a water cup at the aid station (I still had the bottle I was given when I finished) and did my best to not interfere with anyone else's race, (okay, so yeah, I did take another Apple Pie Shot when the opportunity arose, but they were WELL stocked. And I'll admit it, I loved running with Gavin, even if he did complain like 80% of the run (it's who he is). I was talking to other runners and since I just ran the course, pointing out where the hills were, when they ended and what was coming next. It was a few degrees warmer (I shed some layers) and I was running a slower pace and the course was a bit less challenging so I was just chatting and laughing and running and it was honestly so fun. Though I will say, with WAY more runners running the 5K, the course never really opened up. Maybe it is because we started a ways in the back of the runners, but the course just seemed pretty full the entire 3.1 miles. Lots of people were walking right in the middle of the road and in large groups blocking the road. Not a lot of runner etiquette going on, but as someone who was full on banditing, I really couldn't say much. 

After the race, we met up with another friend and picked up our free beer from Suffolk Punch Brewing. You could order whatever you wanted, and while I cannot remember the name, I got a nice Hazy IPA that I would totally recommend to anyone. I'd never been to Suffolk Punch before, and would recommend. Had I not had my family at home waiting for me, I might have stuck around longer to hang out and had another (I had been given several free beer cards from other runners, but I just passed them along to some guys). The post-race was super festive and all smiles. There were lots of fun photo opps and everyone was cheerful.

Overall, the race was fun, lots of people cheering and I had a blast. After, there were loads of vendors and lots of free beer opportunities. I would for sure recommend this race, and happily run it again.