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.

The Crossroads

Occasionally I focus on eateries located at the periphery of Columbia.  This one is noteworthy because it is close to Amish country near Sturgeon, Missouri.  If you want a day trip, a trip to the Amish community, and a meal at the Crossroads would be ideal.  Just keep in mind that the Amish close everything on Sunday.

Take 63 North heading out of Columbia to get there.  The Crossroads is located less than fifteen minutes north of Columbia at the  junction of 63 and state road 22.  My  parents love this place which is an example of good local home cooking Missouri style.  They are especially fond of the homemade pies.  I heard rumors that the place has changed hands recently but I have no idea if the menu has changed much, but I do know the pies are still available.  My father told me that the Crossroads was fixing around 75 of them for Thanksgiving.  Many of those pies were preordered, to be picked up for the Thanksgiving holiday and eaten at home.  These pictures are from this summer.

This is the intersection that has historically been called "the junction."  Across the street, just north and closer to the highway, used to be a truck stop which went through several iterations. 

The address is:  760 Highway 22, Sturgeon, MO 6528.  Let me know if the food is still good.  Running a restaurant is a tough thing to sustain at a quality level for a long period of time.   For various reasons owners, and quality, can come and go.  But, keep in mind that there are some places like this one where the locals do eat, and the food is good.