I live in Highlands Ranch, a suburb of Denver.  It is a community just under 100,000 people now.  I first raced this Turkey Day 5k in 2006.  There was a pretty good turnout and I remember wondering “how many of these people have their turkey cooking right now and how many are going to someone elses home for the big feast”.  I can’t actually say how many participated but my guess was about 600-700 people.  In 2007 and 2008 I didn’t do the this race as we spent Thanksgiving in the mountains skiing with family and cooking our turkey at 9200 feet. (That was an adventure in and of itself!)

Thanksgiving Day 2009 kept us closer to home and so my family decided it would be a fun way to spend the morning together.  I had anticipated a larger crowd as that is just what happens with time, but I could not believe my eyes when we arrived to the race.  This year there were over 1200 entrants and finishers!  The race had probably doubled in size since 2006.  This was very exciting to me as I looked around at participants that were all shapes and sizes from the very youngest to the very oldest.  I think it is absolutely spectacular that more people are adopting a more active lifestyle and participating in these events!  See you at the races! www.tristafrancis.com

Enjoy your training =)