Another Thanksgiving, another Drumstick Dash!

I awoke at 5:30a.m. on Thanksgiving morning to my dad blasting Christmas music from his iTunes library. That was my cue; it was time to get going to Indianapolis for our annual pilgrimage to the Drumstick Dash.

Dad was way more excited than I was in my state of sleep deprivation; nonetheless, I do always look forward to this race. There is no better way to start off a holiday than with a run raising money for a good cause. I met Tony, and later Allison, and we did a little warm-up then muscled our way through the masses toward the start.

Over 7,000 people showed up, but the star of the day was indeed Gerry Giblets. Gerry, who is rumored to be a former IU All-American and Olympian not named Bob Kennedy, who was the race starter, always gets a head start. A glorious trophy with a little turkey on top is the reward for the first male and female runner to tag Gerry. I crowded my way to the starting line in hopes of catching Gerry as early as possible then jogging the rest of the way.

The gun went off, and around me zoomed a four-foot tall frizzy-haired girl in a neon yellow long sleeve shirt. I figured she went out too hard, and she did, so I returned the favor about two minutes into the race and passed her back. When I slapped Gerry's wing two-and-a-half minutes in, I realized it was kind of sad that I took such glee in out-running a middle schooler. Actually, though, I was doing her a favor by teaching her to be tough and to aspire to run smarter next time!

After about a mile I finally caught up with my dad and paced him to an average of 8:06 per mile pace for 4.5 miles, over 16 minutes faster than his time last year! I may have won a small trophy with a turkey on top, but Dad was the won who deserved an award for such a huge improvement. And my knees greatly appreciated the faster pace as it hurt them to run over-10 minute miles last year.

The rest of the day was filled with driving, family, actual turkey and hitting golf balls into Crooked Lake. I am extremely grateful for my running abilities, but more grateful for the people I get to share them with, and also for all the people who wouldn't give a darn if I didn't run. Hope you all had a terrific Turkey Day yourselves.