Turkey Day Reflections

[Running Stories is a collection of the best running stories from around Waterloo Region. This month is from Trish Benoit.]

As I sat back in my chair, I looked down the long table at 16 of my closest family members and friends. The table was laden with your typical Thanksgiving feast; a 20lb turkey, homemade stuffing, sweet potatoes and veggies, gravy, cranberry sauce, and an array of delicious desserts. Each course lovingly prepared by the folks around the table, whose infectious laughter and conversation filled our basement. Two thoughts came to me as I sat back reflecting on the day; 1) there was no other place I’d rather be, and 2) I am truly fortunate to be a runner.

Now I know what you’re thinking, what does Thanksgiving and running have to do with one another? Well this wasn’t just any regular Thanksgiving dinner. This was annual Laurier Loop Turkey Day! Approximately 5 years ago Run Waterloo started a new race called the Laurier Loop. The first year I ran it alone, and by year 5 we had over 16 runners from our friends and family participate. The course is beginner friendly because it consists of a 2.5km loop that you can choose to run once, twice (5km), or 4 times (10km). The second year of this race we began to cook our Thanksgiving dinner for both sides of the family because it would usually fall the weekend before the actual Thanksgiving weekend. As the years have progressed, so have the number of participants who are all invited for turkey dinner. This year it ranged from the youngest runner, my niece Madeline who is 11 years of age, to the oldest at 61 years of age, my Mother-in-law Lynn, and even included Miles the dog.

This is a good example of the fortune associated with being a runner, and there is no better place to experience this than in Kitchener-Waterloo. There are very few sports that can boast the inclusiveness that is indicative of running. It does not discriminate by age or gender, race or culture. It simply takes a pair of running shoes, a road, determination, and most importantly heart. It’s the heart that carries you through the last kilometres of a run. And if you need a little extra heart to get you through, then the folks at Run Waterloo Series have more than enough to give.

It doesn’t matter if you run a 4:00min/km, if you walk/run, if you run a 10:00min/km, or even if you are watching injured from the sidelines, we are all runners. We share a common bond and understand that our lives are enriched because of what we chose to do. Others may not understand why we run in snow, rain, and heat, but if given the chance some take the opportunity. Each day that I can share that passion with others, and have them find their own sense of accomplishment in the sport, I am truly fortunate.

I could see it, that sense of accomplishment, in the faces of 16 people lined around our Laurier Loop Turkey Day feast. I realized that despite the fact that it was more than 2 weeks before Thanksgiving, I didn’t need the actual holiday to be grateful, I already was.

[Trish Benoit blogs at Another Canucking Runner and is also on Facebook and Twitter. Thanks Trish!]