It was a historic if blustery and cold Thanksgiving today for the first ever Guilford Gobbler Gallup, Guzzle and Grunt charity race and after party.
As a sister event to the Thimble Island Triathlon Series (TITs), the Gallup saw record attendance this year. Shoreline residents have their pick of Thanksgiving Day races, including the Madison Turkey Trot and the Branford Bird Bolt, but The Guilford Gobbler Gallup, Guzzle and Grunt clearly came out on top in both community spirit and use of alliteration.
Despite some initial logistics problems with the timing bibs, and a small registration scuffle involving number allocation, the race was still able to start on time through some creative problem-solving from officials.
Unfortunately, in a shocking display of unsportsmanlike behavior, runner #2 (aka “Mom”) decided to seek out revenge on the course for a perceived pre-race slight from runner #1 (aka “parent with external genitalia except when running in 20 degree weather”). In what can only be called an event that rivals the Nancy Kerrigan / Tonya Harding scandal of 1994, runner #2 engaged a 6-year old hit man on a bike to collide with runner #1’s ankle while rounding a turn. The cyclist claimed it was an accident, but rest assured money changed hands.
We were thrilled with the outpouring of support for the food drive, though we will be providing some additional guidance next year.
Finally, our real thanks has to go to all of the volunteers who turned out to make the race such a success. It was inspiring to see all the local kids braving the cold to help staff the race aid stations.
And He Says 