A few weeks back, during a momentous and love-packed wedding ceremony, the references flew fast and furiously, welcoming Heather's husband Ryan into a family that celebrates special holidays with an early morning 5K. For his part, Ryan admirably offered up some nervous but brave laughs every time the reference was made.
It took less than a month for him to realize this was really a thing.
The turkeys were let loose again in Westford this 2023 Thanksgiving morning, and the ever-expanding cast of characters grew by another two this year, with Ryan and my brother Jimmy adding their pitter patter to the early morning footfalls.
Kudos to the Paternell family of Westford who opens their home, street and neighborhood to welcome dozens of runners and walkers into the Lake Nabnassett area on Thanksgiving morning. The family collects food items for the local food pantry as the race entry.
A bit slick on the roadways to get things started, but runners and walkers persevered through icy conditions to create another bank of laughs and great memories.
Westford guest star John Piekos returned to his running roots - the streets where many a mile was logged in the earliest days of E Streeter group runs - home of the classic Lake Run, in fact.
Not surprisingly, Haley Lemay continued to crush the opposition, scaling the course's biggest hill without even losing a breath
Followed VERY closely behind her sisters, Addy and Brook, who ran the course in tandem
Throughout the course, Jimmy returned to shades of his running form from his days at Keith Academy High School in Lowell.
(Ryan wasn't taking the bait - YET.)
Chris and Brianne Lemay ran, as they always do, step for step with one another, with proud papa cheering them on
Chewie made his return to the course. Regular readers of the blog may recall last year's Thanksgiving 5K on this course was Chewie's first official race entry.
Today, the Turkey Trot veteran waited patiently for his family so he could show them the proper course to follow.
Image presented without comment
In fact, there were quite a few turkeys to be found out there today. Special shoutout to Katie who found an adrenaline burst mid-course and picked up her tempo!
And then came the unforgettable finish.
Thankfully there was plenty of paparazzi there to chronicle the moment for history.
With throngs of supporters raucously cheering them in, Jimmy and Ryan completed their first ever Thanksgiving 5K!
Can't say enough about the pair of them joining the fray.
Can't you just hear the Chariots of Fire theme song playing in the background?
And kudos also to the rest of the clan, including Jackie, Heather, Andrew and Katie who answered the early bell and bundled up for this year's outing!
Haley once again claimed the coveted brussell sprouts prize for her award-winning placement!
Silly faces all around for Andrew and Harper
Heading back to their cars, the two newest Turkey Day 5K converts have mixed reactions when asked about their next 5K conquest.
Once again, giving copious thanks for being able to blog about these types of exploits every Thanksgiving. And once again, thankful we're all still healthy enough to do so. There have been more than a few health scares up and down the collective ranks over the course of the last year, but we're all still here and all still cheerfully forging ahead.
Thankful for our extended and growing family, thankful for friendships that have spanned decades and logged thousands of miles together, thankful to watch offspring blazing their own familial trails, and thankful for a life partner who makes it all feel effortless.
Yeah, giving thanks in abundance.
