Turkey with stuffing. Sweet potatoes. Pumpkin pie. Backyard football games and little kids jumping into piles of leaves. Thanksgiving is filled with traditions, and for many of us, one of those traditions is a Thanksgiving morning road race—or "turkey trot."

According to one study, more than 1 million people finished a road race on Thanksgiving in 2024—a number that has tripled in just seven years. There are now more than 800 road races held on Thanksgiving, making it the most popular day of the year for road races, after surpassing the Fourth of July a few years ago. There are turkey trots in all 50 states with distances ranging from 1 mile to a half-marathon in Atlanta, and even a 25K (15.5 miles) in Lagrangeville, NY. But the 5K is by far the most common distance.

Zippy Guttdogg Trotting 25K Through the Years

My Thanksgiving Day has begun with a road race nearly every year since 1989. In my younger, skinnier, more competitive days, that sometimes meant getting up well before dawn to drive several hours and test myself against top regional competition. (Once, the morning after a blizzard, I had to follow a snow plow for two hours just to get there!) I once lined up directly behind former Olympian and RunVermont Hall of Famer Judi St. Hilaire. I tried to stay with her as long as I could, but I couldn't match her kick.

In other years, it just meant carving out a little time for myself before the craziness and commitments of family obligations. But for the past 17 years, it has meant running my hometown 5K where I can see lots of old friends. One of them lives at the 3-mile mark and welcomes friends—and even friends-of-friends—into his home before and after the race for bagels and orange juice. It truly is like a box of frogs with people coming and going, but they love it. Some run while others just come to watch, but their cheers are definitely welcome before that final one-tenth of a mile. Some years I "try" and have even won a few age group trinkets, while other years I'm happy just to soak in the sunshine and the good vibes. Either way, I've won.

Some of the oldest annual road races in America are run on Thanksgiving Day, including the Manchester (CT) Road Race (1927) and the Berwick (PA) Run for the Diamonds (1908). The granddaddy of them all is the Buffalo (NY) YMCA Turkey Trot, which was first held in 1896—older than the Boston Marathon! In fact, it's the oldest continuously run footrace in the world.

2022 YMCA Turkey Trot (T Wellott Drone Photography)

But sometimes the best Thanksgiving traditions are new ones that we create for ourselves. Several years ago, my friend Steve and his wife decided that hauling two pre-schoolers to their local massive turkey trot would be too much work, so they organized their own. They now have 20-30 friends and family come to their house to run on a course that Steve laid out and measured. Afterwards, they hand out DIY awards (probably their children's art projects) to the winners.

If you're looking to stay in RunVermont's backyard:

The Green Mountain Athletic Association (GMAA) will once again host their 5K Turkey Trot (the 49th annual!) on Thursday, November 27 at 10 am at the Gutterson Field House at UVM. Unlike most turkey trots, the GMAA event isn't run on the roads but on the UVM cross country course (with some paved sections). Entry fee is a suggested donation of $5 ($10 per family) and/or a food donation, and all proceeds go to Feeding Chittenden (formerly the Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf). There's even a kid race, so the entire family can start the holiday on the right (running) foot.

RunVermont Staff Joe, Lauren, and Moe at the GMAA Turkey Trot in 2023

You can also head to Richmond, VT, for the Jarred Williams Turkey Trot benefiting Never Give Up Ever, which raises money for research into childhood diseases and provides financial support for families experiencing serious hardship related to having a child with a chronic or terminal illness requiring long-term medical care at the University of Vermont Children's Hospital. The cost for either the 5K or 10K is $30, and the race starts at 8:30 am.