2025 South Davis Recreation Center Thanksgiving Day 5K Race Recap - Bountiful, UT

Thanksgiving decorations along the route

Official Time: 26:51
Placement: 2nd in the 55 - 59, 172nd overall, 129th male.
Results:  Here
Race Website: Here
Weather: mid 32's, breeze from the south.
Garmin Dump: Here
Previous Years: [2024] [2023] [2022] [2021] [2018] [2017] [2016] [2015] [2014] [2013] [2012]

Mile	Time	Comments
1	8:18	A little congested at the start. Steady, downhill pull and holding back a bit
2	8:50	At about mile 1.40 the uphill starts.  Working hard.
3	9:14	Tough mile.  First .75 is progressively uphill.
3.07	0:27	Redline to the finish
	Total Miles: 3.07- 26:51

Introduction

As evidenced by the race history, one of my Thanksgiving traditions is to do the Bountiful Thanksgiving run.  The race offers a 5K and 10K edition, of which I've always run the 5K race.

The course is very familar to me, having run it for their February and August races and I've attended their races faithfully since I moved here.

This race, they had a massive turnout with over 1000 participants.  Usually they draw about 750 or so and with a crowded race market, I was shocked.

Ready set go!

The Race

I arrived at the race at 7:15 AM for the 8 AM start.  They are very well organized and I got my bib and t-shirt in short order.  I also managed to get decent parking: pro-tip: the lot fills up quickly.

I did about a mile warm-up starting at 7:30 and deemed myself ready to go. I actually felt really good coming into the race despite having just raced 5 days ago.  I had tapered and figured I might have a shot of a better than normal race.  The air temperature was ideal, no wind, I knew the course, what could go wrong?

I've written about the course at ad-neaseum: mile 1 is downhill, mile 2 begins the grind back up and the final mile gets even worse but the hill ends at mile 2.75, where the race becomes a fast finish.  It is run on city streets and only the last .25 is on sidewalk.  The course is rectangle-shaped and well marshalled and easy to navigate.

Large turnout today.

The race started a few minutes late but all things considered, it was okay.  The had maneuvered my way to the front but not too close.  It was still congested at the start but after a minute or two I was free to run my own pace.

My goal was to hold a steady pace on mile 1 and hopefully conserve some energy for the latter half of the race.  From previous experiences, I know that my race usually ends (for all intents and purposes) at mile 1.5.  I was hoping to change that today.

Course at the first half mile or so

I found myself getting passed by many runners.  I began to wonder how many were in my age group. It was hard to tell -- there were so many people and some were running the 10K.  Only a handful, of which, split off at about the .75 mile point.  At one point I found myself running with another runner who usually comes in ahead of me.  I wound up passing her.  Perhaps I was on to a good race?

Mile 1 came in at 8:19.  I was still comfortable but I knew I was on the edge of just being winded.

In another quarter mile, we hung a right and began the tougher part of the race.  Immediately my pace slowed and several runs sped by me.  So frustrating.  Given the size of the race, I figured there was a good chance I wasn't winning anything today.

I was working hard and told myself not to give up.  

At the halfway point we made another right at the first aid station.  A set of traffic lights lay ahead and I knew that was the mile 2 marker.  It seemed like it would take an eternity to get there.  I was still being passed and the runner I had caught eased by me.

Mile 2 came in at 8:50.  To be honest I wasn't surprised.  And looking back, it was about on par with what I would've guessed at the start I would've run.  I wasn't having a breakout race but at least I was on schedule.

Runners closing in

Every time I run this race, I think the final mile is going to be a miracle mile.  Hope against hope that I've saved up enough energy to blast the uphill section and sprint to the finish.

Today wasn't that day.  I still gave it everything I had but the only people who I was passing were the walkers who had started out too quickly. Occasionally someone cruised by me and try as I might, I couldn't keep up.

Finally, the summit arrived and my pace quickened as I reached the peak.  I glanced at my watch and realized I was still on target.  I pushed hard, even if I was going to soil myself or puke at the finish. This was the time not to leave anything in the tanks.  There wasn't really anyone close to me but I put on a good show for the spectators.

I saw a low 26 minutes on my watch as I cruised the final segment.  3 miles rang up on my Garmin, but I didn't even glance at it.  It took an eternity to make it to the finish line, but I crossed under in 26:51.

All smiles at the finish

Conclusion

In short, this wasn't the race I was wishing for.  But it was on a race that was in line with what I've been running lately.  It is a challenging course, so I knew I wasn't going to set any personal records today, but it wasn't even close to the 25:51 I ran last year.  In my opinion, it was another quiet period to the end of a pretty lousy year when it comes to racing.

I wound up cycling back about a quarter mile to get photos of friends were running the 10K.  There were just so many runners intermingled with the 10K runners, that I failed miserably getting photos.  I sort of felt bad too for the 10K races, who were zig-zagging around the 5K walkers / joggers.

Results were tough to come by given the lag and the business of the race day but they did eventually come.  I was shocked to see that placed 2nd in my age group.  Over the next 10 minutes I continually refreshed, thinking more results were coming in and it must be some sort of mistake.  But it held.  2nd place was mine!

It took a while for the awards (about 10 AM) but I earned myself a banana cream pie for my patience.

I really enjoy this race.  They always provide a great t-shirt, solid refreshments (donuts, bananas, oranges, drinks) and cheery volunteers.  The finishers medal was nice as well.

The race site is also held at the recreation center, so runners have access to flush toilets and a place to keep warm.

Overall, this race is a fun way to kick off the Thanksgiving holiday.  It is budget friendly and you get a lot for your money.  I think I paid about $30 with the early bird coupon code.

Upcoming Races

02/22: 2026 Las Vegas Half Marathon - Las Vegas, NV (Confirmed)

03/26: 2026 Mount Charleston Half Marathon - Las Vegas, NV (Confirmed)