Well after the winners have accepted their trophies, you can see Allyn Ramker chugging up the backstretch.
He summons everything he can and crosses the finish line.
Just like the mailman, Ramker delivers. In sunshine, rain. Okay, maybe not snow.
As the Times Turkey Trot celebrates its 25th anniversary, we tried to find someone, anyone who has run every one.
We put our research department to work. We called race directors and running gurus. We scoured winners lists from all the previous Trots.
And who did we find?
No one.
Not until we discovered a letter to the editor written in 1997 by someone who was at the back, back, back of the pack and claimed he had run every one.
That guy was Ramker.
And, yes, he's run them all.
There might be others who can boast the same claim. After all, more than 100,000 have participated through the years.
But right now, Ramker is our only known 24-year runner.
Ramker, 52, ran the first race because, well, he wanted to see if he could make it. He had become a daily runner in the mid '70s, when he was a teacher at Boca Ciega High School.
As the years passed, Ramker, who lives just a half-mile from the course, stuck with it. Now, thinking back, the memories of his 24 Trots "all run together," he says.
We congratulate Ramker on his and the Trot's silver anniversary. And we also look back at other memories.
A family affair
At most large road races, parents pushing children in strollers would be dangerous or just plain silly, but at the Turkey Trot, it's commonplace. That's one reason so many families participate.
Amy and Dan McClenathan and family have run at least 10 times. This year, they will do the 5K with their four children: Kelly, 15, Patrick, 14, Erin, 12, and Shannon, 11.
Amy's sister, brother-in-law and their two children are in town from Atlanta. Yes, they will run, too.
The horse on the course
For many Trotters, the sound of so many shoes hitting the pavement is inspiring, even soothing.
But in 1984, several heads turned when a really strange noise could be heard.
Hooves were hitting the pavement.
A horse, sans rider, had found its way onto the course. It loped along with the runners for several blocks before galloping off to parts unknown.
"It was the strangest thing I've ever seen," said Jim Keppeler, who missed the inaugural race, but has run in the rest. "But I didn't pay too much attention to the horse because it wasn't in my age group."
Creature feature
Some runners stand out because of their attire. Runners have worn antlers on heads. We've seen masks portraying former presidents. Some have run in kilts.
But nothing can top the boys cross country team from Shorecrest High School. They ran as a centipede back in the early '90s.
Strike up the band
What the Turkey Trot has lacked in spectators, it has made up for in music.
Since 1981, bands have set up in the darkness of early morning, lining the race route and performing just after dawn to help inspire the runners.
Runners have heard everything from bluegrass to bagpipes. The bands often repeat their tunes at intervals of about five minutes.
The song runners like to hear most? The theme from Rocky.
Whose idea was this?
Former Times columnist Bob Henderson helped start the race and wrote about it until he retired in 1996. Skip Rogers, who has been involved with the Trot for 23 years, has been race director 15 years.
"It takes a lot of work and is a year-round project," Rogers said. "The reward is on Thanksgiving when you see everyone having a great time."
