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| Source: Cincinnati Enquirer archive - http://www2.cincinnati.com/blogs/running/category/100-footprints/ |
On Thanksgiving morning in 1908, 21 men took off from the Fort Thomas Central YMCA, winding their way through Northern Kentucky and across the Ohio River into Cincinnati. 18 men reached the finish outside the downtown YMCA at 7th and Walnut streets. The winner that year -- as he was for the next four installments -- was Lovell Draper, covering the approximately 7-mile course in 37:15 and winning by over three minutes.
(For some perspective, in that 7-mile race, Draper's 10k split would have been about 33:00, which would have been good enough for 11th place in last year's race, out of 14,259 total finishers.)
While some cities celebrate Thanksgiving with a parade of floats, balloons, and bands, Cincinnati celebrates the holiday with a parade of runners. This is the abridged story of a local tradition.
Before I go any further, the astute reader might point out that, while I titled this post a "107-year-old race," this year actually marks the 105th running of the event. The Thanksgiving Day Race has been held here every Turkey Day, with the exception of 1918 (when World War I got in the way) and 1936 (when management problems cancelled the race). It is also the fourth-oldest annual road race in the country, behind the likes of the Boston Marathon.
For nearly the entirety of the event's history, the distance varied between 5.5 and 7 miles; usually though, it was a 6 mile race. Except, however, for the 1933 edition, when the distance was chopped in half to a three-mile race. The usual 6 miles returned the next year. Officially, the race was never standardized until 1985, when directors settled on the current 10k distance.
Another oddity in the running came in 1924, when the race moved from the morning to the afternoon. Like the three-mile race, that change lasted only one year, as the next day's paper noted that "the change took a lot of the glamor from the classic, in the opinion of many, tending to keep down the number of contestants, officials and spectators due to the football games and dinner engagements." The event has always been a prelude to the day, not the focus of the day itself. (The focus is turkey and football, which seemingly hasn't changed since the 1920s.)
While a race is typically a serious affair, one so long-lived hasn't been without some humorous hiccups along the way. In 1920, for example, a streetcar crossed the course, interrupting the race-in-progress. As the pendulum of history swings back, it seems that dodging streetcars may be an issue again in the future.
Or look at the 1983 edition, the only unofficial tie in the history of the race. When friendly competitors Dave Schaufuss and Steve Gosney looked back at the four-mile mark, they saw they were all alone. In the spirit of the holiday, they then decided to finish the race together as friends. Race officials took umbrage to the display, however, and so the formal results list Gosney as the winner.
Then there was the 1988 race, when man's best friend decided to enter the fray. As the race left Kentucky along the Clay Wade Bailey bridge (I'm pretty sure...that's what it looks like in the picture), a German Shepherd started running alongside leader and eventual winner Eric Fillinger. In his words: "He started running along with me in Kentucky and followed me onto the bridge. He ran with me for about a half-mile, I guess ... He was friendly. He just kept running around my feet and getting in front of me."
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| Source: Cincinnati Enquirer archive - http://www2.cincinnati.com/blogs/running/category/100-footprints/ |
Another staple of the race has been it's local flavor. Because Thanksgiving is very much a family holiday, and people are less inclined to travel for races, the race often boasts local winners. With such a tradition, it is very much a race for regional bragging rights. And so many of the past winners can trace their running history back to Cincinnati in some way. Heck, you can even see in the above picture, Fillinger is wearing a Cedarville University singlet.
In that vein, many of the past champions have been college students. There's a wonderful amateurism in seeing young collegiate athletes run well. For all it's warts, the university system has always given young athletes the chance to compete in a sport with limited professional opportunities. And while I could never list all the collegiate winners, there have been some noteworthy ones.
Miami University, for example, has a proud tradition of excellence in the Thanksgiving Day Race. in 1957 Bob Schul won as a Miami freshman. He would then go on to win gold in the 5,000m at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics -- America's only gold medalist ever at that distance.
Another Miami student, Jack Bacheler, won the race in 1963. He was one of the top distance runners in the US of his era, representing his country in the Olympic 5,000m in 1968 (qualifying for the finals but missing it due to sickness) and the marathon in 1972 (9th place).
There have also been Xavier grads in the mix, most notably Julie Isphording, current race director and eight-time winner (most ever, male or female) who represented the US in the first-ever women's Olympic marathon at Los Angeles in 1984.
I can't forget UC legacies as well, including three-time winner Chris Reis and two-timer Eric Finan.
There are others, I'm sure, but brevity will have to cut the list short. (Here's a list of all the past winners.)
And what local tradition is complete without talk of high school? The saying around town is that when people ask where you went to school, they mean your high school. While that paints the city as being somewhat insular, it also rings true: we tie much of our identities to our neighborhoods, and many Cincinnatians tend to stay in Cincinnati -- or at least return if they ever left.
Perhaps one of the most well-known high school products was Milford man John Sence, who has the record for most wins on the men's side, with six.
Taking one spot on the podium was also local legend Jeff See, who is a current professional runner and who dominated Ohio cross country and track in my high school era.
Perhaps the most significant year, however, was 1971. It marked the first year there was an official female winner, local student Marie Kastrup. In an interesting bit of symmetry with the first men's winner, she too won her first five Thanksgiving Day Races.
That year was also the year Reggie McAfee won. While his name isn't all that well-known, his accomplishments should be. With a 4:08 mile, he held the city record for 32 years. Then, in 1973, he ran a 3:57.8 to become the first African-America to run a sub-4:00 mile.
History may not have been made here, but history most definitely has run here.
While the course has changed over the years -- in both distance and design (it was a point-to-point course from Northern Kentucky to Downtown until 2001, when it became a single-loop course with a Downtown start and finish) -- the tradition remains the same.
Welcome to Cincinnati. Shall we go for a run?
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