It makes you want to believe….
 

David Yon, November 26, 2009

Some time late on Thanksgiving Day a switch gets flipped and the air starts easing out of the tension balloon. It is always a special moment in our house – at least it has been for the past 20 years. Enough has been done to begin reflecting on the year’s Turkey Trot and to stop stressing over what might go wrong and start appreciating what a grand running community resides in Tallahassee. The fact that I forgot to bring the hose to fill the water coolers on Thanksgiving morning did not cause the race to be cancelled or runners to pass out from dehydration. Mary Jean came to the rescue and brought the hose instead. Brent Johnson never said a bad word about having to wait in the dark early morning hours to fill the coolers while the hose made its way to SouthWood. He just waited and then made it work. Those are the kind of stories that bring a smile to race directors’ faces.

And that is the story of the day repeated over and over. My good friend Ray Hanlon once referred to Turkey Trot as “organized chaos.” But it works because volunteers and runners just make it work and they have fun at it. Each person has their own reason for doing it, but all give a lot of themselves to make it a success. From Zane Smith and his Capitol police crew, to the Refuge House and the Shelter volunteers, to the incredible parking crew from the Kiwanis Tallahassee Northside Club, to those who just wanted to help out and be a part of the event, to the Capital Health Plan volunteers and, most importantly, to all the members of the GWTC family (led of course by Bill Lott and Peg Griffin) who give so unselfishly of themselves - 2009 proved once again there is something about this event that brings out the best in everyone. Maybe that should not be a surprise – family, friends and running (or walking) on a holiday are a good mix for bringing out the best of folks. A perfect weather day doesn’t hurt either.

A record total of 3655 runners and walkers crossed one of the four finish lines on Thursday under near perfect weather conditions. The marquee race, the 15K, saw 342 finishers, one more than last year. The 10K had a big jump to 503 finishers and the 5K was the big daddy of the morning with a record 2054 finishers. The mile climbed to 756 participants. The D-Tag timing chips worked much better in their second year and complete results are posted for all four races at www.gulfwinds.org. There was something new and special for this year’s race as the Tallahassee Community College African Drum & Dance Ensemble made their Turkey Trot debut. They were set up just above the lake on Grove Park Drive so their drum beats reverberated over the lake as thousands of runners circled the lake along the street and later on the walking path. . Some just had to abandon their running stride long enough to dance.