By Anna Mefford
The day of the Turkey Trot, Ava Boren and Megan Frisch woke up at 5 am and had their “go-to run fuel.” For Ava, that is a peanut butter bagel with a banana and specifically an orange Celius, “I had that breakfast once before a cross country meet freshman year and hit my pr, so since then I eat that breakfast before every running event,” she said.
Megan, too, has a “superstitious” breakfast, which consists similarly of peanut butter toast with sourdough bread and a banana. However, Megan eats the banana separately, and Ava puts it on the bagel.
Over Thanksgiving break, Megan and Ava ran the half-marathon at the Atlanta Turkey Trot. The Turkey Trot is an annual fundraiser in downtown Atlanta, where people from all over Georgia come together to run 13.1 miles on the morning of Thanksgiving for a good workout before a big meal.
“The turkey trot is one of my favorite traditions,” said Megan Frisch. “It truly is such a great way to start your day,” added Ava.
Going into the race, they did not do any training. They decided to take it easy this year and test how well the cross-country training had prepared them.
Every year, it is a tradition for the Lovett cross-country team to participate in the Turkey Trot, so Ava and Megan saw a few other familiar faces, including Ishan Desai and past Lovett cross-country alumni.
“It was so much fun to see past teammates and celebrate after our long run,” said Ava.
They decided to take it easy and not stress about their time. “We ran an 8:50 mile time and ran for a little under 2 hours,” said Megan.
During the race, they had the opportunity to meet many new people and listen to some amazing 2000s pop music to keep them motivated.
“We had a Wicked sing-along with some people who were running at a similar pace with us, and it was arguably one of my favorite memories ever,” said Ava.
In addition to their sing-along, they made a new friendship with a triathlete, whom they were able to keep up with long enough to get to know.
“He was so nice, and while we could only keep up with him for so long, he told us all about his training process and what it was like to complete a triathlon,” said Megan.
The hardest part of the marathon was miles 8 and 9, because you’re more than halfway done, but not close to the end. “Kind of demoralizing,” added Ava.
After the race, they were both exhausted and ready to eat.
“I did not move for the rest of the day, and honestly, a few days after,” said Megan.
This race got them excited for their last track season. Ava does 400s, 800s, a mile, and relays. Megan competes in 100 m, 200 m, pole vault, and relays. They both like track more because they originally did track, then later got pulled into long distance.
Both Ava and Megan have high hopes of making state this year, which will be held at UGA. “I am so excited to run with my best friend for our last season together,” said Ava.
