Father Joe’s Villages Thanksgiving Day 5K
November 24, 2016
Balboa Park
San Diego
We woke up before dawn and went to Balboa Park to run a 5K this Thanksgiving. This “turkey trot” is a benefit for Father Joe’s Villages, serving the homeless. We attended the open air Mass at 6:30 a.m. on the Plaza de Panama, in front of the art museum. We then walked west over the Laurel Street bridge to the start line.
We had meant to sign up for the fun run option, but somehow ended up in the timed runner category. (Meredith had registered for the event on her cell phone, and figures the mistake is due to old eyes trying to read fine print on a small screen.) Bemused, we went to the separate Speedy Turkey start line and chugged along at our own pace, including a few walking breaks.
It was a big scene, and we had fun taking in the crowd. We are not sure of the exact head count, but we saw numbered bibs in the 8000’s. After we finished we stopped to pick up the pumpkin pie we had pre-ordered with our race registration.