What's your favorite part of Thanksgiving Day?
Some people would say that first bite of yams. (Because yams don't come around very often on our calendars, sad to say.) Others would vote for stretching out on the couch before a sporting event. And others would say Friday morning. (Oh, stop, funny guys.)
But a whole lot of people love Thanksgiving morning, because that's when things are cooking, or have been cooked, and you're a bit at loose ends. How to busy yourself ahead of the feast? Burning a few calories isn't a bad idea, which might be why turkey trots have been springing up around the country in great numbers over the last decade.
We have two biggies here in Southern California: one in Long Beach and one in Dana Point. Both are on Thursday, Nov. 22 -- yep, that's T Day -- and both start early.
Long Beach gets going from the Belmont Pool at Belmont Shore. Registration opens at 6:15 a.m. (though 8 a.m. is sold out, so best read details). Our favorite bit about this run/walk are the costumes. People really do come dressed as the holiday's most famous bird. But who is showing in a green bean costume? Someone please go for it.
Dana Point also has an early registration -- that gets going at 6 a.m. -- and the run'll go by beaches and cliffs. Uh, that's the perfect way to start a day of gratitude in our book. We're thankful to live near such beauty, so enjoying it day of Thanksgiving is ideal.
Happy trotting, turkey runners. And just think; if you've prepped, everything'll be done by the time you get home and ready for your guests. Or, better yet, go to someone else's house for dinner, and regale them with your stories of running in a turkey costume.
