I Survived the Turkey Trot!

The Trot “From My Eyes” On Thursday, Nov. 17th, the horn sounded at preciously 4:25 pm and 450 plus registrants would careen up through the mountain as the 55th Annual Turkey would take its rightful place in the spirit of the Lehigh / Lafayette festivities. With what was 2 months of planning, the Trot would come full circle and be over in a matter of 31 minutes and 25 seconds. This was an event that has been part of the “tradition” for 55 years and after many years and the anticipation of it, always leaves me with a sleepless night prior to. I have been a part of this event for 23 years and even though you are absolutely positive everything is in order, there is always small whimsical feeling that you have missed something!! But as usual, it was business as usual and the race went off without a pinch of concern. The amount of heartfelt thank you notes in written form are always wonderful and the verbal ones too as the finishers stand in line waiting to fork over their number and receive a nice prize for finishing this grueling trot! People thanking and telling you how much fun it was is what makes this one of my most favorite events that Intramurals offers. When I first started here, we use to get 600-700 people to register and 400-500 finish. But as the times changed, people would be reluctant to run. Was the course is too long, too hard or too much effort? I know the support of the runners as they make their way up the hill is lined by students, encouraging them to run and often think that it would be nice if others that are out showing their support would participate, but in a sense they are, but just in a different method. The story below is told by a freshmen participant who acknowledges this. There are many ways to be a participant, you can actively “play” or be an active supporter of the event. Between the runners and the watchers, the Trot will always be our number one event in participation…Getting hundreds of people involved in an activity in less than 32 minutes is remarkable in it’s self ! I Survived the Turkey Trot 2011! I’ve run one 5K in my life- it was the kind that was held to benefit a charity and it took place in the middle of a steaming July afternoon. Safe to say that it was not the most enjoyable of experiences, and in the midst of my trek up South Mountain in this year’s Turkey Trot I was mentally calculating which one was worse. However, as I continued placing one foot in front of the other, I was reminded of what made me sign up for the Trot to begin with. Being a freshman, I wanted to participate in an event that I heard drew hundreds of people every year as part of Lehigh-Lafayette festivities. I’ve always been big on school spirit, and after the race I realized it was much more than rooting against Lave. More importantly, it was rooting for Lehigh- in this case, the over 300 members of the Lehigh community that chose to put nearly every muscle in their bodies to all the challenges the Hill had to offer. Dozens of residents of the Greek houses stood outside to cheer on the runners, regardless of whether they were in their respective houses or not. My physical exhaustion was able to be pushed aside as I realized how lucky I am to go to a school where complete strangers rooted for me to keep going- me along with kids wearing robes and pajamas, Mario and Luigi, some kids in banana suits, and the yellow Teletubby that, to my chagrin, passed me with the finish line in sight. As I crossed the finish line completely out of breath and slightly lightheaded, I was rewarded with a shirt for my efforts and soreness that lasted for a solid three days. Do I plan on doing it next year? Absolutely.

Lehigh University Athletics

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