Thanksgiving is a great day for celebrating traditions, including running a 5k! This year I ran the Turkey Day 5k in Sanford and it turned out to be a really great morning. This particular race is hosted by Front Running Sports and held in downtown Sanford each year. The event also benefits The Sharing Center which is a nonprofit that serves those in the community who are experiencing homelessness and poverty. So here is a quick review in case you are looking to run a fun 5k next Thanksgiving!
- Race Course & Parking – This course runs along the marina and through part of downtown. When I ran this two years ago, the course was a little different since two hurricanes had just come through so the boardwalk was still pretty flooded. But this year the course included more waterfront views and it was a nice, sunny day! There was also plenty of parking and it took about 10ish minutes to walk to the start line. I arrived around 7:15 to pickup my packet before the 8am race start time.
- Race SWAG: There weren’t many vendors at this race, so not as much as swag as other races. But I still appreciated the finish line goodies. They also provided free race photos and free hot chocolate/coffee and donuts! The popcorn was provided by Blossom with Autism.
- Extras: There was a costume contest so it’s always fun to see everyone dressed up. Although it ended up being almost 80 degrees so I don’t know how y’all are running in full turkey and pilgrim costumes, but I appreciate the festiveness. The DJ had a lot of energy and kept the party going all morning. They also encouraged participants to bring used running shoes to donate as well as non-perishable food items to help stock the food pantry for The Sharing Center. The medal was nice, too! 🙂
Overall, I enjoyed the event and will always appreciate a good turkey trot on Thanksgiving. If you plan to run this race next year, my only suggestion would be to wear your running watch as the course isn’t marked with mileage except for one 2-mile sign (which was kinda in the wrong spot), but there were super friendly volunteers passing out water on the course! I ran this for fun so wasn’t really aiming for a certain time, maybe next year I’ll try to PR!
Also, as a bonus – you can walk around the corner for a refreshing coffee from Foxtail Coffee. 🙂
See you at the next race!
The Swag Mama 