Can you call yourself a runner if you don’t do a Turkey Trot 5k? This year, there were at least 3 Thanksgiving day races in the greater Las Vegas area. One was 15 minutes from my house and offered a technical long-sleeve T as swag, so that’s why I chose the Jus Run Turkey Rock 5k as my Thanksgiving Day run.
It was a great day to be running in Las Vegas – overcast skies meant that the sun wasn’t blazing, and temperatures were in the 60s.
Pre-Race
I signed up late so arrived early to get my race packet. The start and finish line were at PKWY Tavern, which meant that there were indoor bathrooms. However, PKWY had a party last night and hadn’t cleaned the place up fully before opening early to us runners.
Tons of folks in themed gear or even full costume – there were runners in turkey onesies and even someone in a hand turkey costume. Pop music and classic tunes set the tone of the race. Quite a few families and kids were there, along with moms with strollers.
The Race
With about 800 runners, 500 of which were doing the turkey trot 5k, the start was going to be rocky, no two ways about it. The race was up and down the Western Beltway Trail, so width was limited to about 4-5 runners abreast. With no official corrals, there was quite a bit of weaving and folks finding their spot in the first half to three-quarter miles.
The Western Beltway Trail is a solid multi-use path right along the freeway. Most of the time, you don’t hear the cars due to how it’s constructed, and you get some decent views of the mountains to the west. When you start at the south, as we did today, it’s all uphill. Fortunately, we turned around halfway through and got to blaze downhill to the finish line.
Post-Turkey Trot 5k
Medals, water, and small packaged snacks were waiting at the finish line. Well-organized, good atmosphere, but not sure I’d want to pay to run on the Beltway Trail again.