Below is a story from the November 27th edition of the Salem News. Adam Fitch, TR Ramsdell and of course our favorite race Director Doug Bollen were all quoted!
Wild Turkey Road Race has grown into a local tradition
By Chris Cassidy
STAFF WRITER
SALEM — Thanksgiving isn’t just a day for turkey and football and falling asleep on the couch anymore.
Nearly 1,300 runners began Turkey Day yesterday with a 5-mile jaunt through downtown Salem in the annual Wild Turkey Road Race.
When race director Doug Bollen started the event five years ago, about 300 runners showed up. Since then, it’s grown so quickly that Bollen plans to change the course next year and find a bigger pre- and post-race venue to accommodate the swelling field of runners.
“We’re not a small race anymore,” said Bollen. “… The reputation has gotten out that it’s a good race.”
Thanksgiving is the single-largest running day in America with “turkey trots” all over the country, including the Feaster Five in Andover that draws about 7,000 runners and walkers.
Bollen noticed the closest Thanksgiving races on the North Shore were in Newburyport and Andover and figured a race in Salem might save runners a long drive.
The race has drawn hundreds of mostly North Shore runners and their out-of-town family members. Yesterday’s record-breaking field came from about 20 states, Canada and even Italy, Bollen said.
“Running is getting really big around here,” said Adam Fitch of Salem, a member of the city’s Wicked Running Club, who finished yesterday in a time of 45:42.
Continue reading ‘Wild Turkey in the Salem News’
