On Thanksgiving Day 2017 I ran the Zeeland Turkey Trot 8K in Zeeland, Michigan. This is a big race bringing about 600 runners. It was 30 degrees or so and I couldn’t decide what to run in, which is why my number was pinned to my shorts. I eventually decided to just short-sleeve it.
This was my second year racing it and I wanted to improve my time. A sub 31 minute would be good. I hadn’t run a short flat course in a while so I didn’t know where I was at really.
For the first 2-3 miles I was able to stick with the two runners shown in the above photo, despite being dramatically fatter. Anyway, I missed the 2 mile marker with my eyes but when I crossed 3 miles in about 17:45 I realized that a sub 30 minute was possible. While I didn’t keep up with the two others, I finished the last 2 miles quick enough for a personal best at the 8k of 00:29:54 and second in the M30-34 age group.
Results link: http://michianatiming.com/live/zeeland8k/ (But you have to scroll to age groups…(M 30-34))