Last Updated on November 23, 2018 by Heather Hart, ACSM EP, CSCS
It’s all Kristy’s fault, really.
One day, maybe last month, she posted an innocent enough question on her Facebook wall. “Which turkey trot is everyone running?” You see, here in the Grand Strand area I can count 4 turkey trot options on Thanksgiving morning, all on pavement, and I’m sure there’s a few more I don’t know about. They are incredibly popular, as turkey trots tend to be, and incredibly crowded. Being the somewhat sarcastic trail running snob that I tend to be, I commented “I’m running the one at the Hulk (our local trail).” No, there wasn’t a turkey trot scheduled for the trail, but my point was that I’d rather spend my morning in the trees than pay a bunch of money to run 3.1 miles in a crowd.
Please do not take offense if a busy turkey trot on Thanksgiving morning is your thing. It was once mine too. As the years pass and I traverse further and further off the beaten path, I’m slowly losing any street cred (literally) that I once had. I might as well grow a beard and permanently affix this trucker hat to my head. But I digress.
Almost instantly another friend, Dinah, replied to the aforementioned Facebook thread with “Wait, there’s a Turkey Trot at the trail?”
And that’s how this all began.
I figured there SHOULD be a turkey trot on the trail. So I created a Facebook event, invited some friends, and promised nothing but a good time and maybe a custom finishers medal. I certainly didn’t promise bibs, chips, or an accurately measured course. The next thing you know, I was clambering to finish 30+ hand painted, wood burned medals for a group much bigger than we anticipated.
When I was 7, my mom enrolled me in art classes at a local art museum. Once every few years I tap into those 7 year old Heather skills.
A bunch of cold South Carolinians, ready to run.
Happy Thanksgiving Trails, to you…
We ran, shared laughs, and ate lots of cinnamon buns.
But let’s get to the real fun, shall we?
One night while stretching at the track after a killer speed workout, I suggested to a group of friends that we put a spin on the “beer mile” concept and create a “Green Bean Casserole Mile”. Of course I was entirely joking, but as we began talking about it, it all came together.
- Eat some green bean casserole.
- Run one loop of the pump track (approximately 2/10ths of a mile).
- Eat some stuffing.
- Run one loop of the pump track.
- Eat some cranberry sauce (the kind from the can, with the lines still on it)
- Run one loop of the pump track.
- Eat (if you can call it that) some gravy.
- Run one loop of the pump track.
Much to my surprise, PEOPLE ACTUALLY TOOK US UP ON THIS CHALLENGE.
The five brave green bean casserole milers!
To make matters worse, the temperatures were hovering in the 40’s with a steady wind, making all of the challenge ingredients cold…and chunky. The stuffing was near impossible to scoop, the gravy gelatinous in nature.
Race day “fuel”
mmmm chunky!
Coagulated gravy is just electrolytes in festive disguise.
Yet despite the ingredients being less than appealing, our challengers stepped up to the plate. Watch the videos for yourself:
And yes, if you listened to that last video with sound on, I did indeed find our new friend Austin on Instagram. Well, technically he found me. And when I looked at his profile, and it said “Myrtle Beach”, I thought to myself “HOW IS THERE A TRAIL RUNNER HERE IN TOWN THAT WE DO NOT KNOW?” So naturally, I invited him to join the Green Bean Casserole Mile, which he won.
The cheering squad…
The face of a man who DID NOT PUKE!
Wearing my Dad jacket, which I only realized today kind of makes me look like Laz. No cigarettes or conch shells here, but damn is that jacket warm!
Around 10:00 am we packed up our stuff and all headed in our separate directions, with full bellies (some full of chunky gravy, gross), cold noses, and warm hearts.
Or at least my heart was warm.
If you know me, you know that I often complain about living here in Myrtle Beach. It’s the antithesis of the environmentally friendly, liberal home of mine back in Vermont. There’s no mountains, few trails, and none of our family. It’s not where I want to be, but it’s where I need to be for another handful of years. But here in Myrtle Beach I have found the most incredible group of friends. The kind that are up for adventure, the kind who never take life too seriously, and the kind that humor my crazy ideas by simply showing up.
I couldn’t be more thankful for these people.
And this guy.
P.S. no one barfed. The end.
Heather Hart is an ACSM certified Exercise Physiologist, NSCA Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS), UESCA certified Ultrarunning Coach, RRCA certified Running Coach, co-founder of Hart Strength and Endurance Coaching, and creator of this site, Relentless Forward Commotion. She is a mom of two teen boys, and has been running and racing distances of 5K to 100+ miles for over a decade. Heather has been writing and encouraging others to find a love for fitness and movement since 2009.
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