Cincinnati has had a Thanksgiving day race since 1909, making this year’s race the 108th annual Thanksgiving day race for the city.

This is my 8th annual race running on the day of Thanksgiving. I first started when a friend, Katelyn Kramer invited me to join in 2010, my freshman year of college:

That year we finished the 10 kilometer (6.2 mile) race in 59 minutes and 1 second, at a pace of 9 minutes and 31 seconds per mile.

On November 25th, 2010, there were 10,757 finishers in Cincinnati and the average page was 1 hour, 6 minutes and 42 seconds.

Running the same race year over year presents an interesting opportunity for athletes looking to track their progress, and I thought it would be interesting to graph how my times have changed over time. 

Now, granted that year by year I occasionally have chosen to run with friends rather than for time, but I also try to run for time when possible.

Below I’ve charted my time over the years. You’ll notice that the lowest time fell the year I moved to Madison and trained for a half-marathon. The following year I actually ran a full marathon (so I probably could have beaten that time as well, but I ran with friends).

My favorite part of the Thanksgiving Day race over the year is seeing friends and acquaintances out on the course, catching up, saying hi (and finally checking their times after the fact .)

To you and your family, I hope you ended your Thanksgiving with a full belly, many laughs and something to be grateful for.

Happy Thanksgiving!