north shore turkey trot 10k recap

Disclaimer: I received an entry for North Shore Turkey Trot 10k to review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!

For the past six or so years, I ran a fairly local Turkey Trot and loved it. Unfortunately, it was cancelled this year and I was on the hunt for a new race. If I was going to wake up early on Thanksgiving, a day off from work, I wanted to do something longer than a 5k. That made narrowed down my search a lot. There's a ton of races in the area that are 5ks, but not a lot of longer distance races available. Lucky for me, RAM Racing was hosting a 5k and 10k in Highland Park. Though this was a bit of a trek for me, running 6.2 miles made it worth it, plus, I knew the area well enough from the North Shore Classic Half Marathon in June that I have run twice, which means I knew where I could park, which helps ease a lot of my anxiety when doing new races.





Packet pickup was on Tuesday and Wednesday, which I wouldn't be able to make because of work, so  paid the $15 for packet mailing. I received my long sleeve, gender specific and bib in the mail about a week before the race. Race morning my mom and I got to the parking lot around 7:20. The 5k started at 7:30 and the 10k began at 8:10. We were only parked a block away, so we stayed in the car where it was warm for a while before getting to the race site around 7:45. We hit up the portapotties, no lines, and then walked around a bit to stay warm before getting into the corrals. A–F were the 5k, and then G–I were the 10k. We were in the last corral and started around and started at 8:13am.



It was a pretty chilly morning, starting at 33 degrees and feels like 24 with 10mph winds. It was sunny, so that helped keep me warm, but at times, the wind made it coooold. I ended up taking off my gloves and putting them on a few times. My hat came off pretty early too. The views along the course were pretty – nice homes, lots of trees, and enjoyable. The course was open to cars, but most were very much alert to the event and would go slow. There were a ton of volunteers and police officers on the course to make sure the runners stayed on course and were safe. There were two aid stations on course with water and Nuun, and each mile had markers and clocks.



The course had some hills and was enjoyable. It was a nice way to spend Thanksgiving morning with my mom. After crossing the finish line, there were cups of Nuun, bottled water, Apple Pie (individually wrapped with two in a container), Clif Bars, and mini candy canes.







The results were up the next day along with free photos available to download. My only issue with the race was the lack of weekend packet pickup or race day. I appreciate being able to get it mailed, but $15 is a bit much. If my other race doesn't come back next year, then I'll likely do this one again as I like the 10k distance and the course was great. You can read my BibRave review here.