Turkey trot facts for kids
Turkey trot are footraces, usually of the long-distance variety, held on or around Thanksgiving Day in the United States. The name is derived from the use of turkey as a common centerpiece of the Thanksgiving dinner. A few races in the United Kingdom during the Christmas period are described as turkey trots. (Turkey is traditionally eaten at Christmas.) In the United States, many courses used for these Thanksgiving events are run at major certified USA Track & Field road race distances between 5Ks and a Half marathon 13.110 miles (21.098 km); others are informal fun runs between 1.0 mile (1.6 km) and 5 km. The fun runs are often run as charity benefits and feature runners in costumes, particularly as turkeys. The Atlanta Marathon, which ran on Thanksgiving from 1981 to 2009, was the only full 26.219 miles (42.195 km) marathon to run on the holiday. It has since been reduced to a half-marathon, was the nation's longest Thanksgiving Day race, while the city's full marathon is held earlier in the year, but was cancelled in 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic, when it was replaced by a shorter race, the Peachtree Road Race. The oldest documented turkey trot, a still-ongoing annual event in Buffalo, New York, dates to 1896.
Notable races
| Name | Location | Inaugural race | Distance | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Turkey Tradition | (various, 27 locations) | (various) | A series of races in multiple cities; claims to be the world's largest Thanksgiving running festival and listed 27 races across 12 US states in 2019. | |
| Berwick Run for the Diamonds | Berwick, Pennsylvania | 1908 | 9 miles (14 km) | Name changed from Berwick Marathon in the early 1980s. |
| Buffalo Turkey Trot | Buffalo, New York | 1896 | 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) | The oldest continually running public footrace (established in 1896) in the United States. 14,000 runners annually. |
| Concord Turkey Trot | Concord, Massachusetts | |||
| Cuero Texas Turkey Trot | Cuero, Texas | Features a unique twist on the tradition in which the participants are all actual domestic turkeys. This event is now held on the second weekend of October (coincidentally the same weekend as Canadian Thanksgiving). | ||
| Dallas Turkey Trot | Dallas, Texas | 1940s | 8 miles (13 km) | More than 25,000 racers annually. |
| Dana Point Turkey Trot | Dana Point, California | 1977 | Attracts over 18,000 people to the Dana Point Harbor in Southern California, and has donated over $500,000 to local charities. | |
| Feaster Five Road Race | Andover, Massachusetts | 1988 | 5 miles (8.0 km) | |
| Hyde Park Pilgrim Run | Kansas City, Missouri | |||
| Invesco QQQ Half Marathon | Atlanta, Georgia | Was the nation's largest half marathon run on Thanksgiving morning, originally a marathon and half marathon from 1981 to 2009, but was raced only as a half from 2010-19. The race was cancelled in May 2020 as a result of the coronavirus pandemic that moved the Peachtree Road Race to the Thanksgiving date. Between 1981 and 2009, the event also coincided with the Atlanta Marathon, making it the longest distance for a turkey trot in the United States. | ||
| Kitchener–Waterloo_Oktoberfest 5K Fun Run | Regional Municipality of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada | 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) | Held on Canadian Thanksgiving | |
| Manchester Road Race | Manchester, Connecticut | 1927 | 4.748 miles (7.641 km) | |
| Mile High United Way Turkey Trot | Denver, Colorado | Held on Thanksgiving Day in Washington Park for over four decades. | ||
| Plymouth Turkey Trot | Plymouth, Massachusetts | Part of America's Hometown Thanksgiving Celebration | ||
| Run to Feed the Hungry race | Sacramento, California | 1994 | Attracts over 27,000 runners annually. | |
| San Francisco Turkey Trot | San Francisco, California | Takes place in Golden Gate Park on Thanksgiving Day. | ||
| Schuylkill Navy Run | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | 1899 | 5+5/8 mi | Put on by Boathouse Row in Philadelphia. |
| Silicon Valley Turkey Trot | Has over 25,000 participants. | |||
| Smoke the Turkey Trot | Sylvania, Ohio | 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) | Goes through Saint James Wood neighborhood and regularly has over 2,000 participants. Many participants adorn costumes or wear Michigan/Ohio State colors (the OSU/UM football game is generally played on the fourth Saturday in November). | |
| Tampa Bay Times Turkey Trot | Clearwater, Florida | Annual attendance for this event reaches over 17,000 registered racers. | ||
| ThunderCloud Subs Turkey Trot | Austin, Texas | 1990 | 5 miles (8.0 km) | 20,000 people normally participate |
| Troy Turkey Trot | 1916 | There were six runners in the inaugural race, but it is now one of the largest and oldest turkey trots in the United States. |
