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Runners participate in a marathon. The Turkey Trot is a local marathon themed around Thanksgiving.

After months of preparation and planning, our community will come together to run the annual Turkey Trot 5k. 

“We started planning it in March, as far as the on-site stuff we start prepping a week before,” race director Jake Goldsborough said, “At 5 a.m. on Thanksgiving morning we get things finalized before the race starts.”

The Turkey Trot will take place at the Family Arena in St. Charles on Thanksgiving morning. Building the race from scratch, Goldsborough and his team have been providing this race for nine years. This year’s Turkey Trot is going to be bigger than last year’s with about 4,500 runners. 

“I think Fleet Feet does a really good job of putting it on and I think they make it fun,” runner Jessica File said, “There is a very supportive running community here.” 

Every Thanksgiving it has become a fun tradition for runners all over our city to come together to run this race. After the race, you get to chat with the other runners and talk about your race. People will dress up in turkey costumes and wear festive running clothes to celebrate. Fleet Feet makes sure that the race is very inclusive to all different types of runners.

“It brings the community together by offering an opportunity for runners of all types and speeds to participate,” runner Brooke Schulte said.

The atmosphere of the Turkey Trot is the opposite of competitive. It is meant to be a fun run to connect with your family and friends. No matter how fast or slow you are, the Turkey Trot is still bringing everyone in our city together on the number one most popular racing holiday in America. This race is so popular because it gets you to do something active before eating a lot of Thanksgiving food.

“We actually let kids run for free at the half-mile fun run after the 5k,” Goldsborough said, “We try to make it affordable for people to bring their whole family so on a holiday where people are celebrating by getting together with family, they can start the day by doing something active.”