Thanksgiving Traditions in Caribou:
The Annual Turkey Trot Road Race
Story by Tamra Kilcollins; race photos courtesy
of Kevin Sjoberg, Aroostook Republican & News
Family traditions and celebrating the holidays go hand
in hand. At Thanksgiving, for some it’s enjoying mom’s
homemade pumpkin pie and grandma’s special stuffing
recipe. For others, it may be decorating the Christmas
tree before having a bite of Thanksgiving
“leftovers.”
And some family traditions
happen by accident. Just ask Dr.
Dan Harrigan and his family. In
1985, Dr. Harrigan, Chief of the
Cary Medical Center Emergency
Department, organized the first
annual Turkey Trot Road Race
in Caribou as part of a Sports
Medicine program the hospital
provided at the time.
Fast forward to 2010, and
before you know it, 25 years of
Thanksgiving holidays have come
and gone, and what started out
as a road race to promote health and wellness in a rural
community in northern Maine, has become a local family
tradition of fun and fitness for many participants and a
“labor of love,” for the family who has worked together to
host the event.
Just as they’ve done for the past 24 years, the Harrigan
20 Turkey Trot WINTER 2011
Family of Caribou; Dr. Harrigan, his wife, Mary; and their
children, who traveled home to Aroostook County from
Portland and Boston, daughters, Caitlin and Lauren, and
son, Eamonn; hosted the Annual Turkey Trot
Road Race in November. For
the 25th year, on the Saturday
of the Thanksgiving holiday
weekend, while many County
people were home recovering
from their traditional “Black
Friday” holiday shopping,
almost 100 runners and
walkers participated in the
Turkey Trot 5K Road Race
in Caribou.
Dr. Harrigan explains that
for many years the race was
co-sponsored by Cary Medical
Center and Solman Distributors of
Caribou. It’s now sponsored by Cary and
the Harrigan family, with continued support
from several local businesses.
The race course has remained the same throughout its 25year history, starting and finishing near the same telephone
pole at Caribou High School. Dr. Harrigan explains that
back in 1985, he set the course by measuring the distance
“with an old 10-speed bike and Jones measuring wheel,