Race #513 -- Ruby C. Hunt Turkey Trot 5k -- Boiling Springs, NC -- 11/25/21

I ran this race on Thanksgiving (November 25th) and I'm finally getting around to writing the blog entry at the end of February. Posting this race kinda slipped my mind, but over the past few months, I've been dealing with a pretty severe case of plantar fasciitis and decided to not do any more races until I get it under control. The plantar fasciitis has improved some, but nowhere near 100%. Still, I'm thinking of getting back to the races soon although I'm sure I'll be slower than ever. As I write this, my 70th birthday is coming up in just three days so at least I'll have the age excuse for being slower.

So regarding this race, my son Joe came down to North Carolina from Michigan along with his fiancee Lindsay and they both ran the race. Joe had started running at the beginning of the pandemic and is running great. Before this Turkey Trot he had only run one race, the Charlevoix Marathon, which he ran in three hours and 31 minutes, pretty amazing for his first real race. This year he's training for his next Marathon and is hoping to qualify for the Boston Marathon. He'll have to run 3:20 for that but he's on pace to do that right now.

The last race I had run before this one was the Myrtle Beach Mini Marathon in the middle of October, where I did okay, but that was about the time my plantar fasciitis started flaring up. I would have actually skipped this race if not for Joe and Lindsay coming down, but we had talked for months about running it. Looking back at it now, my time of 26:16 (8:28 pace) looks way better to me now than it did then. Next time I race I could be lucky to run faster than a 9-minute pace, so 8:28 doesn't seem too bad for me right now. We'll just have to see what the future holds.

Joe finished 3rd out of 18 in his age group (21:27), Lindsay finished 6th of 34 in her division (29:43), and I was 2nd out of 8 (26:16) in the 65-69 group. There were 567 runners in the race.

This graph shows that I walked early and often throughout the race -- 10 times to be exact. I'd like to say I planned it that way, but nope. I just walked every time I felt like I was about to die. It could be that in future races I'll revert back to a planned run/walk system as I've done a few times in the past. I'm slower that way but it's much less painful.



Race Name:  Ruby C. Hunt Turkey Trot 5k

Location:  Boiling Springs, North Carolina (Gardner-Webb University Campus)

Date:  November 25, 2021

Race Rating:  96

Top 10 Overall:



Course:


Elevation by Mile:

Weather at Start:







My Stats: 

  • Time:  26:16
  • Pace:  8:28
  • Age Group: 2 of 8 
  • Overall:  103 of 567
  • Average Heart Rate:  145
  • Maximum Heart Rate:  159
  • Age Grade Percentage:  66.37%

Thanks to Joe for catching this pic of me approaching the finish line. There were some official finish line photos as well (link above).

***************
* RACE RATING *
***************

RACE COURSE 
3 - Chip Timing (Start & Finish Mat): (3 points if yes)
2 - Water Stops: (0)none  (2)normal  (5)extras [Gu, sports drink, etc.]
1 - Course Marking:  (0)bad  (1)good
3 - Course Scenery:  (0-5) 1=bad  and 5=fantastic
1 - Mile Markers: (0)poor or none  (1)normal  (2)with clocks or time called out
2 - Volunteers:  (0)too few  (2)good
7 - Finish line: (0-9)   0=bad  and 9=spectacular!
2 - Certified Course: (0)no  (2) yes
2 - Correct Distance: (0)no  (2)yes
1 - Partly or fully on unpaved roads:  (0)yes  (1)no

REGISTRATION 
2 - Cost:  (0)expensive  (2)reasonable  (5)cheap!
3 - Race Day Registration:  (0)no  (3)yes

RESULTS
2 - Posted online within 24 hours:  (0)no  (2)yes
1 - Easy to find results:  (0)no  (1)yes

AGE GROUPS
2 - 3 deep awards: (2)yes (0 for anything less)
5 - 5-year age groups (5 points) (0 for anything less)
1 - 14 and under group (1)
1 - 65+ group (1)
1 - 70+ group (1)
2 - Top Overall M/F:  (0)none; (1) first only; (2)top 3 or better
0 - Masters Category(40+): (0)no  (2)yes
0 - Grand Masters Category (50+):  (0)no  (3)yes
0 - Senior Grand Masters Category: (0)no  (5)yes

AWARDS
5 - Overall Winner Awards: (0)none  (2)yes  (5)excellent
2 - Age Group Awards: (0)none  (2)yes  (5)excellent
5 - Door Prizes or Drawing: (0-9)
3 - Finisher Medals for All Finishers: (0)no  (3)yes  (5)really cool medals

POST RACE 
4 - Food for Race Participants: (0-10 with 5 being average)
8 - Venue (Entertainment, Race Setting, etc.): (1-9)
2 - Finisher times posted after race:  (0)no  (2)yes

REST ROOMS 
0 - Porta Potties:  (0)no  (1)limited, long lines  (2)plentiful
2 - Indoor Restrooms: (0)no  (1)limited, long lines  (2)plentiful

T-SHIRTS
2 - T-Shirts: (0)no  (2)yes
3 - Design: (1-5)
2 - Material Quality: (1-3)
0 - Discount for no-shirt option:  (0)no (2)yes
0 - No shirt/No discount for late registration (-3)


PHOTOGRAPHY 
0 - Professional Photography: (0)no  (5)yes
x - Prices: (1)expensive  (3)reasonable  (5)cheap
5 - Free Photographs (newspaper, etc.):  (0)no  (1-10)yes 

PARKING 
2 - Close to Start:  (2)yes  (0)no
2 - Close to Finish:  (2)yes  (0)no
2 - Plenty of spaces:  (2)yes  (0)no
2 - Free Parking:  (2)yes  (0)no

OTHER
2 - Shelter from Inclement Weather (needed or not): (0)no  (2)yes
2 - Swag (free socks, water bottles, etc.): (0)no  (2)yes, some  (5)excellent
0 - Part of race series or Grand Prix:  (0)no  (2)yes
2 - Kids Fun Run: (0)no   (2)yes
0 - Miscellaneous not covered above: (-10 to +10)

TOTAL:  101



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