Why are Turkey Trots so competitive?

Most runners who are capable of running that sort of time are coming off of a high school or college cross country season and are relatively fit. Those who are training post collegiality might be visiting home and looking for a good tempo/race effort and a Turkey Trot usually fits the bill.

Yeah, out here it's a case of all the college kids home for Thanksgiving & just coming off X-C season….

It can be hit or miss, depending on who's having Thanksgiving their parents that year. I do one near my house. Last year with perfect conditions the winning time was 18:10.99 (5K), two high school kids from the local high school team duked it out. The year before, in colder and windier conditions, the winning time was 15:59.24, as Jarrod Shoemaker was home, and he duked it out with his brother Jake.

The local 4th of july 5k is the most competative by me. I always assumed it was because the high school and college kids were all home, and didn't have any other competitions that prevented them from racing.

Winning time is usually mid 15s, while other town 5ks are mid to high 18s.

I placed 21st in the 4th of July race and 3rd at the Oktoberfest 5k with very similar times.

The buffalo, ny turkey trot I do, its an 8k with winning time of 24 minutes, very competitive

Because its the one chance a year to do the infamous "gobble, gobble motherf***ers" celebration

Becuase people need something to do on what is in reality the most boring day of the year. Lets face it, everyone puts on a happy face about TG, but really we all hate the travel, the disruption of routine, the iditotic relatives, GF's parents, the mess, the closed stores, crappy cooking, being stuck inside if its cold, etc, etc

For me, the best is a TT then off to the golf course if the weather is decent. Thats the best case scenario.

At least in the turkey trot near me, the winner gets a free turkey to take home. It's nice to get a reward and win your dinner

1. Schedule. I always have the day off with no where to be until meal time.

2. College and Good High schools are not in season, so they can race. Same is true for 4th of July races, but thanksgiving weather is better for fast times.

3. Tradition. Once a race not only has a fast winning time, but a solid top 20 runners know it is a good opportunity to compete and run fast. There are some runners who only signup for races they think they can win, but more competitive runners look for competition. Because the turkey trot had the most competition last year, they make it a priority this year.

Fun trivia: I think the longest running road race is actually a thanksgiving day run.

turkey magic wrote:

1. Schedule. I always have the day off with no where to be until meal time.

2. College and Good High schools are not in season, so they can race. Same is true for 4th of July races, but thanksgiving weather is better for fast times.

3. Tradition. Once a race not only has a fast winning time, but a solid top 20 runners know it is a good opportunity to compete and run fast. There are some runners who only signup for races they think they can win, but more competitive runners look for competition. Because the turkey trot had the most competition last year, they make it a priority this year.

Fun trivia: I think the longest running road race is actually a thanksgiving day run.

All good points. Also, people feel that they need to run a lot in the morning so that when dinner time comes they can stuff themselves!

check out the Armagh Road Race in Northern Ireland. 56 guys between 13:58 and 14:59! way more competitive than any road race in America

It's a numbers thing. Many more fast runners. Thanksgiving is the largest race day in the country, by a far number. Many non-runners will annually run their local Thanksgiving Day race as a family tradition. Also, many college kids will jump in a local Thanksgiving Day race, which makes the probability of a fast time much higher.

they don't celebrate Thanksgiving in Ireland, dumb@ss.

turkey magic wrote:

Fun trivia: I think the longest running road race is actually a thanksgiving day run.

You are probably referring to: Delaware YMCA Turkey Trot 8K, Buffalo, NY/USA Nov 1896-2014

I believe that the longest running road race in the US is the Bemis-Forslund Pie Race, 1891-2015 is celebrating it's 125th consecutive running this November. It is held at Northfield Mount Hermon, a prep school in western Massachusetts. (Frank Shorter '65)

Pretty much all the locally competitive hobby runners in the area show up, plus the college runners who are home for the holiday.

Mismo wrote:

It seems like the winners' times of Thanksgiving day races are so much faster than races on other days. 17 flat can win you a local 5k, but you need low-16's to place in a Turkey Trot

Why is this?

Come on brah, the answer to this is so obvious. Just think before asking.

Because Turkey Trots are run in the early morning before filling up on the turkey feasts.

Because the winner gets to f*ck the turkey at the end?

My 10K PR was on Thanksgiving.

I was post collegiate and training for the 1500.

I would do fall base training and get fitter through the fall.

Thanksgiving was when I was in my best distance shape.

My 5K over 30 and up best times are on Thanksgiving also.

I would just shoot for that race to be in good shape and there was a good field to run against.