Many people come for the wine, the ambience, the camaraderie… since I don’t drink wine, need to drive 30 minutes to see brown grass, or have friends that run, I’d guess that I was in attendance for the Vineyard at Florence Turkey Trot 5k because I could.

A few years ago, I tried to tempt some friends to train with me in the style of a Couch to 5k. Part of the temptation was wine and we signed up for a wine run at the same venue. Before we even met for the first practice, I rolled my ankle. I was able to walk that 5k but it was disappointing at best.

On September 20th, I received an email advertising the Turkey Trot. I’m not sure why, but I signed up. The next day, I found my running shoes and started jogging.

I chose to do the 5k solo. Maybe I thought I’d jinx myself if I invited others.

It was a beautiful day. I tried to focus on pacing but the costumes and cute dogs were so distracting that I found myself “chasing” others and had to pull back so I didn’t overexert myself too early.

I don’t actually know if I did well but I did run the whole distance, had a few laughs, and didn’t drink wine.