For many, the Salem/Beverly football rivalry is a Thanksgiving morning tradition. Back in high school, I would be up most of the prior night decorating the homes of football players (my apologies to the families who later had to remove miles of toilet paper from their property). I would attend the game in obligatory red, white and black, screaming cheers at the top of my lungs, arriving home for Thanksgiving dinner literally speechless, often freezing, and sometimes halfway hysterical from the high school drama that would take place in our sleep deprived high adrenaline state.
But football is no longer the only game in town. Six years ago a new Thanksgiving tradition came to Salem - the Wild Turkey 5 Mile Road Race. Introduced by Park, Recreation and Community Services Director Doug Bollen with help from former Boys & Girls Club of Greater Salem Director Tom Philbin, this race has quickly become the largest on the North Shore growing from 300 to over 1,000 participants, with proceeds benefiting Salem youth programs.
While this race has attracted runners from as far as Italy, it still remains fiercely local. More than just a race, the Wild Turkey is a reunion with a run in the middle. Amidst the hustle and bustle, happy runners greet their neighbors with hugs, handshakes and holiday greetings, sharing training tips and dinner plans. A true community affair, this event is made possible thanks to the generosity of local sponsors, food donors, the Salem Police and hundreds of volunteers. This race is the perfect way to kick off a holiday dedicated to indulging in as much food as possible. The 5-mile course is long enough to challenge an experienced runner, but not so far that it scares a recreational jogger. It gives hundreds of participants something to celebrate later, as they toast their victory over a well-earned turkey dinner, many donning their race shirts and turkey tattoos. From the popular "water" stop hosted by the Juniper Point neighborhood in Salem Willows to that annoying little hill near Camp Naumkeag, the Wild Turkey 5 Mile Road Race is a great way to start Thanksgiving Day.
In fact, it’s the best race I’ve never run. That’s right, it’s the biggest race on the North Shore, and I’ve never run it. Because I live with the Wild Turkey Race Director, my Thanksgiving morning goes something like this. The alarm goes off at 3:30 a.m. "You’ve got to be kidding" I say every year, surprised that 3:30 a.m. can still feel as badly as it did the year before. In early years, the mile markers were sprayed on the course, causing great dismay when we awoke one year to a dusting of snow covering the race arrows that had to be relocated and shoveled off at 4:30 a.m. "I think the line is over there, no… over there" we whispered in the dark as we drove slowly along the course, watching kitchen lights click on as we passed by. Another year, a torrential rainstorm threatened to hit race day morning. It held off until the last runner crossed the finish line, but not before days of emails asking if the event would take place "rain or shine". (Word to newbies: like it or not, races are not cancelled for weather).
6 a.m. on race day morning, the Boys & Girls Club hall comes alive as volunteers arrive, ready for the rush of early bird runners checking in with one thought in mind- ‘I hope I get a shirt’. Look around Salem on any given day, and you will see at least one Wild Turkey technical shirt jogging by. One of the first races to offer this five years ago, the turkey shirt is a hot commodity in running circles, available for a limited number of early registrants. Seeing the race bags so carefully lined up brings back memories from the whirlwind bag stuffing the prior weekend. With the help of volunteers from the Wicked Running Club, a massive assembly line is formed to collate over 1,000 race numbers, shirts, gels, flyers and promotional materials. Several hours and many paper cuts later, rows and rows of registration bags are lined up, ready to bring joy to their racing recipients.
7 a.m. on race day, the Boys & Girls Club is packing them in by the hundreds. Surrounded by Club member posters that read "Run Your Turkey Off" and "Thank You Runners", the Race Director fields every question imaginable, sometimes several simultaneously, on topics from volunteer locations, to course records, to bathroom issues. My usual post is locked away in a ‘quiet room’, furiously entering information for the post entries into the timing system. The excitement is palpable as the hour counts down, and the runners head towards Salem Common for the main event.
It’s 8 a.m. and outside the runners are off, but inside preparations are underway for food and drink to be available for their return an hour later. They arrive in sweating, heaving, happy clumps, the room vibrating with chatter as friends compare experiences and times. Some will wait to see if they’ve won an award, but for many, finishing is reward enough.
Our volunteer morning ends with a handful of hearty helpers cleaning the Club to its original state, with hardly a clue that over a thousand runners controlled the space a few hours earlier. The final stop on Thanksgiving morning is aptly to the Salem Mission, where appropriate food donations are dropped off. Its 11:30 a.m., 8 hours since we woke up, and we look every bit as worse for the wear as the last runner to cross the finish line. As we pause for a moment outside the Mission, an entering guest whispers "Its OK to go in. They are nice, and give you a hot meal". "Thank you, Happy Thanksgiving" we respond, remembering just how much we have to be thankful for.
To register or volunteer for the Wild Turkey 5 Mile Road Race on Thanksgiving Day go to salemroadraces.com.
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