Man dressed as a turkey takes part in a 10K run on Thanksgiving Day
Turkey trots 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 there.)[1] In the United States, many courses used for these Thanksgiving events are run at a certified USA Track & Field road race distances between 5Ks and a half marathon; 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 26.2-mile (42.2 km) marathon to run on the holiday. It has been replaced by a shorter race, the Peachtree Road Race.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.[2]
Notable races
Cuero, Texas, holds a turkey trot every November where hundreds of turkeys parade through the town (1912).
A series of races in multiple cities;[3][4] claims to be the world's largest Thanksgiving running festival and listed 27 races across 12 US states in 2019.[5]
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).
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.[10] 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.[11]
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).
There were six runners in the inaugural race, but it is now one of the largest and oldest turkey trots in the United States.
References
^"Turkey Trot Half Marathon". www.turkeytrot.org.uk. December 2020. The Turkey Trot is the primary fundraising activity for the 1st Keyworth Scout Group.
