Turkey Buster 5k

After a wonderful Thanksgiving Day holiday with M's Aunt and Uncle in Jersey, we decided to run the Marlton Lakes Turkey (Buster) Trot 5k this past Saturday. She had been training hard for a PR in the 5k, and she figured that the flat central Jersey landscape was the best bet for a fast 5k. We got there at about 8:30, and the temperature was 28 F, which for me is a good temperature, for her, a little cold. There were only 37 runner; I think the cold kept some people away. According to the race director, the course was marked with "chalk arrows" and "cones with arrows". There was no leading bike or car, and the roads were open.

When the bullhorn went off, I went out front and kept going. At the half-mile mark I was about a bit ahead of the second place runner, at about 5:30 pace. As I neared 0.8 miles, a Cadillac pulled out of driveway right in front of me. I swung to the left side of the road and just kept going. Unfortunately, that move made me miss the faint chalk arrows indicating a right turn. It wasn't until I got to a tee in the road about a block and half up, that I realized something was wrong. No arrows or cones. I heard someone yell, and looked back to see the other runners turning right where the Caddy pulled out. I managed to catch up to the lead and get ahead again, but any hopes of my PR were dashed.

Not so for M. She ran a great race at 7:02 pace, with a shoe that came untied in the first mile. Her 21:49 was a PR by at least a minute, and she won the women's race. Two fantastic races for her this weekend. It's great when someone trains hard, and it pays off.