How Turkey Trots Became a Thanksgiving Tradition

The Manchester, CT annual road race held on Thanksgiving Day will be celebrating its 82nd year tomorrow. One of the oldest in the nation.

"some people are at least partially motivated by the prospect of pre-emptively burning a few calories " (Partially? How about very much, especially if they are being recruited to accompany someone) Yes, only a few calories are burned. But this attitude is so American. Figuring a means to assuage the guilt of gluttony. And IMO, the number 1 reason so many people fail at their exercise endeavors. A complete disconnect from the reality of the science of diet and exercise, and the pop-culture mythology that over-rides that reality. A mythology that is ingrained into most regular dieters, like looking both ways crossing the street is for most of us. "If I really sweat, make a hard effort, I can then treat myself later." But "treat" usually means over-indulge. I had so many clients who struggled (actually, it was pure denial) with the idea that a relatively hard (for them) work-out a few times a week, or moderate ones more times, was not buying them calorie credits to indulge themselves. They all create their own equations of good-effort to arrive at a sum of calories they can safely consume and still be safe. Them; "I ran 7 miles on Saturday...why am I still at X?" Me; "Whatcha eat that night?" Them; "Uh...pizza...Sicilian...(sheepishly) with all the toppings" Me; (stares at them, waiting for the bulb to turn on) Them; "But I ran 7 miles! Hard!" Me; (pulls out a pen, paper and calculator. deep sigh, having to go over this again...and again...)

I'll be doing my traditional Turkey trot tomorrow, but I've been running for a long time and I'm not foolish enough to think that a 5 k is going to burn off a day's worth of calories. I'll tell you what it is going to do though...help me burn off enough steam so that I probably won't punch one of my dolt45 loving in-laws. It's all about the endorphins and the mashed potatoes. With butter please. I despise both gravy and pie. And since I am, in fact, training for a marathon next month, I'll take an extra helping of the potatoes. Probably a beer too. Happy Thanksgiving!

It may be a bit late but I think someone should bring back this tradition: Turkey Drives New England Style Before railroads provided cheap and easy transportation, part of a farmer’s duties included walking Vermont turkeys from Vermont to market in Boston. Farmers either walked the turkeys themselves or hiring someone to walk for them. People from towns in all parts of Vermont would pool their turkeys and gather their wagons with camp supplies and enough feed grain to last for the trip. In the 1820s and 1830s, turkey drives of from three to four thousand birds were common. According to historian Charles Morrow Wilson, it took about 1,000 turkeys to make the 150 to 350 mile trip financially worthwhile. The road to Boston teemed with hidden hazards. The turkey flocks could only travel from ten to twelve miles a day and every 100 birds require a drover. Boys walked in front of the turkeys scattering shelled corn so they would walk forward and other boys and men herded them from behind. Turkey flocks were often a mile long and from a few feet to fifty yards wide. When sunset came, turkeys perched for the night no matter the location. The weight of hundreds of turkeys perched in trees toppled the trees. If trees weren’t available, turkeys chose roofs, which were often in their sights. Often, so many turkeys perched on a farmer’s shed or barn that the building that it collapsed under their weight.

Sadly, this year it'll be about 18° when my nearest Thanksgiving 5K kicks off. How DO they do it in Buffalo every year? :)

This year will be the 5th consecutive Turkey Trot for me and my wife. According to the weather report, we’ll be prepared for a smile to be our umbrella. Happy thanksgiving all!

And let us not forget to be Thankful that, for every racer or family of racers, there are those people, usually grandmothers and aunts, who stay at home laboring away to prepare the Feast for later that afternoon or evening. Turkey Trots are a team effort!

You forgot to mention the largest Thankgiving Day fun run in the country, Sacramento's Run to Feed the Hungry, with 29,604 participants in 2017. It started in 1994 and the Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services benefits.

As a psychologist who works with folks with eating disorders , I am sensitive to articles that pair exercise (and calories burned ) with eating (and calories consumed). Exercise should be done for the good feelings it brings to our bodies and souls. Food should be consumed with pleasure.

“Basal metabolic rate” might be useful terminology for interested readers to look into. Your body burns most of it’s calories simply by just existing. That isn’t to say that exercise isn’t useful, it’s to say that 300 calories expended in running likely doesn’t include that basal rate underneath it. Whatever the case, this occasional exerciser has been frequently disappointed by the returns on his investment when he looks at the calorie counter on the treadmill after a long run.