Team RunnersConnect gobbles up PRs in Turkey Trots across the country.

Jaron Brown ran the Atlanta Half Marathon in Atlanta, GA on Thanksgiving morning coming across the finish line with a time of 1:39:10 which is a PR by 2 minutes and 30 seconds.

JaronBThis race was special to me because, when I joined RunnersConnect nearly 8 months ago, breaking 1:40:00 in the half marathon was one of four goals. For the past 6 months, I focused my training on this race. I didn’t skip one workout over that time. It’s extremely gratifying to set a goal, take all the interim steps to prepare yourself for success, then accomplish the goal. As for the race itself, I was pretty much as I expected it to be. It was very hilly in the second half, but my training prepared me for it. I started off a bit too fast, and went even faster on the first half downhills, so I was unable to negative split like I had planned. The weather was a bit challenging. It was in the 30’s for the entire race with a prevailing 10 mph wind, so that added to the challenge. Despite these challenges, I was able to push through hard and tackle my goal. Thanks to the RC coaches and the entire community for helping me tackle this goal. Now on to tackling my final goal: running a marathon!

Colleen Dilenschneider ran the North Shore Turkey Trot 10K in Highland Park, IL finishing this race distance in the time of 47:56 which is a PR by 4 minutes and 24 seconds.

ColleenDI didn’t expect to PR at all at this race, let alone cut 4:24 from my 10k PR that I set just 6 weeks ago! Because I am marathon training, it was 22 degrees outside, I had to wake up at 5am (three+ hours before race start) to get to the suburbs, and the race was on a holiday surrounded by family logistics, I wasn’t prioritizing this race very much and just wanted to do alright and have fun. I was astonished at how well I did! I started the race with my sister and she ran a PR, too (54:12) so it was a fun and memorable race for both of us and shivering at the starting line together and rejoicing at the end made the whole experience so much more fun and special! This is also the first race that I’ve done since joining RunnersConnect and following my plan. I love that I am getting stronger and faster and I can see it on my watch!

Cristy Brewer ran the Turkey Trot 10K in Goldsboro coming across the finish line with a time of 59:12 which was a PR by 45 seconds.

This was our family Y’s first 10K. They have done several 5K’s on Thanksgiving Day. Well – my time I am reporting is my time at 6.2 miles – the volunteers got a little confused and we actually ran almost 7 miles due to looping us around a subdivision twice when it was only suppose to be once. My actual finish time was 1:05:44 at 6.88 miles.

Aaron Sobel ran the YMCA Turkey Dash 5k in Katy, TX finishing with the time of 26:48.

AsobelHappy with pacing as each mile got faster during race so felt I ran it smart.

 

 

Meg Ling ran the Encinitas Turkey Trot in Encinitas, CA finishing this race in the time of 20:46.

MegLI was close to PRing! This race was incredible for many reasons! I had it as a goal for my recovery from an injury I’ve had for about two years. When I put it on my schedule for RC, no one said it wasn’t possible! I’ve been getting stronger and stronger and planned on running this race for fun and by feel…no Garmin for time! I knew that would give me an idea of where I am with strength and fitness.  I started the race slowly in 80 degree heat, relaxed and waved to my husband and friends, relaxed when I saw the ocean on my right and felt a surge of strength and melted into it. It got hot, I hit a slight hill that lasted half a mile and just trusted my body! Just to keep me honest to not “over running” this race, I ran 6 miles the night before the race(about 11 hours before)and had a great night run with our local running group. When I had jogged to the start from home for the race, my legs were tired! I knew I had made the right decision to keep to my training plan and enjoy the race rather than fight it! When I saw the clock as I neared the finish, I was blown away. If I had worn the Garmin, not run the night before and treated this race a little more seriously, I WOULD have pr’d. As I approach my 50th birthday, I am excited for the possibilities and thank RC for helping me reach my running dreams and goals! This was one of my favorite and most special races ever.

Ramona Dragnea ran the Thanksgiving Day 5K in San Francisco, CA finishing this is event in the time of 23:17 which is a PR by 1 minute and 6 seconds.

RamonaDNice & flat race by the water. More than setting a new PR, I wanted to see how it feels to run a 5K again, after two years of training for marathons or half marathons. I was happy to PR, but most than anything, I was happy to get it on negative splits.

 

Samantha McMenamy ran the Turkey Trot 5K in Colorado Springs coming across the finish line in the time of 27:18.

Samantha MI love to run the morning of Thanksgiving! It was such a fun atmosphere and a beautiful day. This was my first race since recent surgery, so it felt especially good to be out there.

 

Tony Malinauskas ran the Hot to Trot 10K in Knoxville, TN on Thanksgiving day finishing in the time of 51:54 which is a PR by 2 minutes and 48 seconds.

Came in 6th of 19 in my age group. When I did this run 2 years ago, I was 9th of 18. Creeping up in the standings.

Vera Fajtova ran the Framingham Turkey Classic 5k in Framingham MA finishing this race in the time of 24:34.

This is a big social event! Great spirit and lots of fun.

Mike Sigmon ran the Charlotte Southpark Turkey Trot in Charlotte, NC finishing this race event in the time of 33:16.

MikeSThis was my first race since returning to running after a 15-18 year hiatus. Also, ran the entire 5k with no walk breaks and that may not seem like a big deal, that slow for 3.1 miles but considering coming back after such a long layoff and multiple surgeries I felt pretty durn good about it. It only motivates me to keep going.

Rhet Hulbert ran the Turkey Day 5k in Boise, ID coming across the finish line in the time of 16:27.

RhetBReal missed opportunity here. I tried to stay with the leaders and it was a good solid pack of 10 guys including Nick Symmonds. We all wanted to stay with him as long as possible in case we might beat him. It turns out he only ran 15:49 to win it so it would not have been out of the question for me to do that. But at the mile mark it was 5:00 flat so I dropped back thinking it was too fast. 2nd mile was 5:20 and was pretty comfortable now that I think about it. I picked up the pace with 2 minutes left and caught 3 guys and didn’t sprint to the finish because the next guy was out of reach. Finished 7th overall. What a bad race all around. I gave up on going for the win before really running out of steam. Also, after I slowed down, I ran too comfortably for too long before noticing that I had another gear in me. If I hadn’t been injured these last few months and kept my mileage up I would have run right with the top 3 and had a super f un day. Next time just hang on and race! The positive takeaway was a 5 minute mile and I still had energy and speed and that I felt comfortable at 5:20 pace.

Shawn Stewart ran the 1st Annual Canton Turkey Trot 10K in Canton, TX finishing in the time of 1:03:25.

ShawnSThis was a very unofficial race, but it was a great event for our little town. It was the 1st turkey trot of any kind that anybody could remember and we had over 130 people show up to run the 5k or 10k. The route took in several parts and areas of our town and the race was promoted entirely by Facebook and word of mouth. It was a free event, but shirts could be purchased for $20 and all the proceeds went to a local charity that supports the education needs of impoverished kids in El Salvador. We are looking to have another in the spring as well as making the turkey trot an annual event. Folks around town loved doing this.

Rick Lopez ran the YMCA Turkey Day Dash 5K in Thousand Oaks, CA finishing in the time of 23:21.

RicardoThis is the same course I PR’d in 2012 at 23:11. I’m two-years older and 5lbs heavier and was only 10 seconds slower. I’m hoping to become even faster over the short-term and wasn’t expecting much given my last month+ of training, but was still pretty happy to be so close to my PR!

 

Elida Grimaldi ran the Big Chill Run 10K in Waukesha,  Wisconsin finishing this race distance in the time of 50:46 which was a PR.

It was very cold but it was a lot of fun.

 

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