Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trax, and Other Running Events in Columbia

Columbia is a great fitness town.  I have done several stories about our local trail system, which is simply outstanding, within the city and how it connects with the state wide trail network.  I run on those trails at least one time a week.  There is also an active fitness culture, and a fantastic running community.  The annual Turkey Trax, held on Thanksgiving morning, is just one example of the many running events that are held here.  Probably over one a week on the average. 

This past Thanksgiving I ran in my second Turkey Trax here in Columbia.  Although it was a very cold morning hundreds of runners showed up for this great annual event.  Ultramax Sports sponsors this race and their events are always well organized.  A calendar of events they are sponsoring is available online.  Last year the event was held at Rockbridge High School, but this year the event was moved to downtown.  I ran this event with some family members and we had a great time.  You can find that story at my other blog Running Ugly. 

This is me, number 1677, two of my daughters, and my favorite son-in-law.  It is fun to be active and healthy as a family.

A crowd shot of the finish line.

The announcer that cheered people on.  You can see how well organized the event was.  Registration proceeded without a hitch right up to the start and EVERYBODY got a t-shirt.

Another shot of the finish. 

Why pictures of the bathrooms?  Because it is important and you know that if you have ever raced.  There were FOURTEEN bathrooms for this event and I did not see a single person having to wait their turn.  I was very impressed.  

Pies, and yes they were all  kosher  (I checked) for people who placed.  I came in sixth in my age division so I went home hungry.

The Columbia Ultramax Sports store located on Broadway downtown. 

The pictures are a bit blurry.  I used an iPhone but I have one of those waterproof cases.  The area around the lens gets obscured with dust and lint. 

The running community is backed up with one of the best running clubs in America for a city our size.  The Columbia Track Club is active and puts on a lot of its own events, while helping with many others.  It also sponsors an annual summer track event for kids. The Calendar of events, including training runs for the Columbia Track Club is available online.   Tryathletics is a local small business that is also very much involved, and giving, to the community. I would be remiss if I did not mention them.

2009 Interfaith Ecumenical Thanksgiving Celebration - Update

Each year the Columbia Interfaith Council has a thanksgiving celebration and I have attended the last three. Here are some pictures from the last one which was held this past Sunday on the Mizzou campus in the Memorial Union. Make sure to check the previous post for the video.

Leaders from the Jewish and Hindu communities.  

Imam Abdullah Smith from the Islamic Center of Central Missouri

 Reader from the local Newman Center.

Pastor of Bethel Church.

Children performing a traditional dance from the Shanthi Mandir Hindu Temple and Community Center of Mid-Missouri.

Representatives from the Baha'i faith.

UNITY

 

BREAKING BREAD TOGETHER

 

 

 This year was probably the biggest and best Thanksgiving interfaith event yet even though there was a holiday parade scheduled downtown at the same exact time.  Representatives from the Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Baha'i, and Jewish faith traditions were all present to celebrate together.

Isn't it interesting that when people of faith come together in the same room the differences melt away and the humanity comes forth.  All of us share the same hopes and fears.  We tend to forget that when our sectarian differences, our own woefully inadequate understanding of the divine, gets in the way.  

Interfaith Thanksgiving 2009

I will post more but I wanted to get this video up as soon as possible.  Here is the video for the Interfaith Thanksgiving celebration held on 22 November 2009: