Time to Trot: Popular Thanksgiving-Themed Races Across the United States

Thousands of people across the United States will spend their Thanksgiving this year trotting before indulging in the annual holiday’s traditional feast.

More than 786,000 runners participated in a Turkey Trot or other Thanksgiving Day race event last year, according to data from Running in the USA (www.runningintheusa.com). The number marks a slight decrease from 2013, but Thanksgiving race participation has grown 16 percent since 2011.

Hundreds of Thanksgiving-themed races are taking place this month across the country, ranging from one-mile fun runs and 5Ks that help you earn that extra helping of stuffing to 10Ks and even half-marathons.

Running in the USA helps running enthusiasts, or anyone who wants to offset some of dinner’s damage, find the ideal Turkey Dace race online.

Here are a few events to inspire you to lace up for a heaping serving of running fun:

• Buffalo YMCA Turkey Trot: The longest consecutively run race in the country, this 8K is now in its 121^st year and takes place annually on Thanksgiving Day. Last year, 14,000 runners helped YMCA Buffalo Niagara allocate more than $1 million in financial assistance to Western New York families.
• Western & Southern Thanksgiving Day Race: The sixth-oldest road race in the country and the Midwest’s oldest, the Western & Southern Thanksgiving Day Race is in its 106^th year in 2015. The 10K covers three cities, three bridges and the two states of Kentucky and Ohio before rewarding finishers with a big party at the finish line.
• North Shore Turkey Trot: What better way to celebrate running a 5K or 10K on Thanksgiving Day than with a cozy fleece trapper hat waiting for you at the finish line? Your own personal pie, that’s how. All finishers of the North Shore Turkey Trot in Highland Park, Ill., are rewarded with a premium goodie bag as well as a free pie to help them recover.
• Quarry Turkey: Forget gel packs; runners of the Quarry Turkey in the San Francisco Bay Area are offered Thanksgiving-inspired snacks like pumpkin pie at aid stations to keep them fueled throughout this post-holiday race.