A turkey trot is the easiest race of the year to find a reason for. Thanksgiving 2026 falls on Thursday, November 26, and several towns with races in The Racer’s Hub archive hold a turkey trot that morning. Below are six of them in Chicago, Rockford, Davenport, Des Moines and Dubuque, with distances, start times and entry fees as the organizers listed them on November 6, 2026. At the end you will find the Thanksgiving races from 2008 to 2015 whose results are still in our archive.
Fees, times and deadlines can change before race day, so check the race’s own page before you sign up.
Thanksgiving 2026 at a glance
| Race | Town | Distances | Start | Entry fee (as listed Nov 6) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edison Park Turkey Trot | Chicago, IL | 5K run/walk; Gobble Gallop for ages 3–8 | 5K 9:30 a.m., Gobble Gallop 8:30 a.m. | $35, $40 after Nov 22 |
| Chi Town Turkey Trot 5K & 10K | Chicago, IL | 5K, untimed 5K, 10K, kids’ runs | see the event schedule | 5K $42.99, 10K $49.99 |
| Rockford Road Runners Turkey Trot | Rockford, IL | trail race of about 5K | 9:00 a.m. | $10; couple $16; family $25 |
| YMCA McCarthy-Bush Turkey Trot | Davenport, IA | 5K, 5 miles, 1 mile, kids’ race | 5K and 5 miles 9:00 a.m. | $42; kids’ race $17 |
| The Des Moines Turkey Trot | Des Moines, IA | 5K, 5 miles, Tot Trot | 9:00 a.m. | $54, more after Nov 22 |
| Turkey Trot at Wahlert High School | Dubuque, IA | 2.5 miles and 5 miles | 9:00 a.m., both distances | $20 |
Chicago
Edison Park Turkey Trot. The course stays on neighborhood streets in Edison Park, around Northwest Highway and Oshkosh, with rolling street closures on Northwest Highway between Devon and Overhill. It has been held since 1995. The 5K run/walk starts at 9:30 a.m., and the Gobble Gallop for children aged 3 to 8 goes first at 8:30 a.m. The 5K fee was $35 on November 6 and rises to $40 after November 22.
Chi Town Turkey Trot 5K & 10K. This is the 16th edition of the race, which the organizer bills as a run on the lakefront. You can choose a timed 5K, an untimed 5K or a 10K, and there are two kids’ runs: one for ages 11 and under and a free dash for ages 8 and under. Every finisher gets a medal and a donut. The organizer publishes start times and packet pickup in the event schedule on its own website.
Our archive holds results for 17 races listed in Chicago, IL, from 2011 to 2019. You can browse all Chicago races in the archive, including the ten editions of Race Judicata described in our Race Judicata results guide.
Rockford
Rockford Road Runners Thanksgiving Turkey Trot. The club calls it the oldest race in the area, and 2026 is its 54th year. It is a trail race in Atwood Park; the race address is 7074 Rydberg Rd, the park’s south entrance. All runners start together at 9 a.m. The distance is given as about 5K and has never been exact. The format is guess your time: you predict your finish, and watches and GPS devices are not allowed. Entry is $10, $16 for a couple and $25 for a family, and registration on the race page closes on November 25 at 8 p.m. Packets are handed out on race morning from 7:15 to 8:45 a.m. The race raises money for the Rock River Valley Food Pantry.
Rockford is also home to the Rockford Marathon, with eight editions from 2008 to 2017 in our archive.
Davenport, Des Moines and Dubuque
YMCA McCarthy-Bush Turkey Trot, Davenport. The 40th edition takes place in downtown Davenport. The 5K and 5-mile races start at 9 a.m., the 1-mile run at 8:30 a.m. and the kids’ race for ages 2 to 10 at 8 a.m. Packet pickup is at the R. Richard Bittner YMCA, 630 E. 4th St, on Wednesday, November 25, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., and on race morning from 6 to 8:45 a.m.
The Des Moines Turkey Trot. The organizers call it Iowa’s largest Thanksgiving Day tradition. Runners start in front of the Des Moines Courthouse in the Court Avenue district and cross the Des Moines River; the 5-mile route continues to the Botanical Center before heading back downtown. The 5K and 5-mile races run from 9 to 11:30 a.m., and the Tot Trot for ages 8 and under starts at 10:15 a.m. The fee was $54 on November 6 and goes up after November 22.
Turkey Trot at Wahlert High School, Dubuque. The 54th edition starts at Wahlert Catholic High School, 2005 Kane St. The 2.5-mile and 5-mile races start together at 9 a.m., and the race is open to ages 4 and up. Entry is $20. You can also register in the school gym on Wednesday, November 25, from 6 to 7:15 p.m., or on race morning from 7:30 to 8:45 a.m. The first finisher in each age group of both races wins a certificate for a turkey.
Thanksgiving races in our archive
The Racer’s Hub archive keeps the results of eleven races held on Thanksgiving Day between 2008 and 2015. If you ran one of them, open the year and search for your name or bib number.
- Scott County YMCA Turkey Trot, Davenport: 2008, 2010 (1,484 runners), 2011
- Dubuque Turkey Trot, with 2.5-mile and 7.5-mile races: 2011 (1,510 runners), 2012 (1,894 runners)
- 2010 Palatine Turkey Trot, 2-mile and 5-mile races (1,406 runners)
- 2010 Palos Heights Turkey Day Run (1,051 runners)
- Kenosha Mayor’s Turkey Day Run: 2010 (1,761 runners), 2012 (690 runners); in 2015 listed as Kenosha Mayor’s Turkey Trot (531 runners)
- 2013 The Fox & The Turkey, Batavia, IL, 4 miles
The 2008 and 2011 Davenport results and the 2013 Batavia results were saved as text reports, so they have no runner count here; you can still search them line by line. To see every race in the archive with “turkey” in its name, search the results archive.