Thursday, November 26 · Thanksgiving morning · Raleigh
Seven Thanksgiving-week races, two of them huge. Where to park, what it costs today versus race week, and what the morning looks like minute by minute. In the order you'll need it.
Every big trot in the Triangle uses stepped pricing, and the next step is November 1. The Raleigh race is $35 today and $40 in race week, "or until sold out" — it sold 2,810 bibs last year. The Wake Forest one goes $20 → $25 on October 1. Nothing here needs deciding this week, but the sign-up is cheapest before the leaves turn.
The biggest race actually inside Raleigh, ten minutes from downtown, done by 9:30.
Starts and finishes at Ridgewood Shopping Center by Whole Foods, at Ridge Road and Wade Avenue. The course loops the neighborhoods behind it — proper Raleigh hills, a surprising number of people on lawns cheering, and a costume contest if you want to run in a turkey hat. Bagels and bananas at the finish.
Built backward from an 8:30 start. The oven can go on at 10.
Saturday or Sunday, noon to 4, lower lot at Ridgewood by Conte's Bike Shop. Anyone can grab yours. This is the whole trick: it turns Thanksgiving morning from "arrive at 6:45 and stand in a check-in line" into "arrive at 7:45 and go."
Only matters if you skipped advance pickup. Otherwise sleep.
Runs until 8:15 in the old Fleet Feet space to the right of Whole Foods. Skip it if you did the weekend pickup.
Faircloth Road entrance to Meredith. Take a spot on the outer edge nearest the exit and back in. Everyone leaves in the same fifteen minutes after the awards; you'll want to pull straight out.
It's usually 35 to 45 degrees at the start. Throwaway layer on top, and leave a warm one in the car for after.
Google Maps, long-press, save. College lots all look the same when you're cold and done.
Between Wade Avenue and Leonard Street. There are pace signs — line up by the one you'll actually run, not the one you'd like to.
Two water stops, out and back. Chip timed, so a slow walk to the line costs nothing.
Awards at 9:20 by the shopping center sign. Kids Dash goes at 9:35 once the last runners are in.
Either leave right after you finish, or stay for the Kids Dash and let the lot drain. The middle is the crawl.
Field sizes are last year's official participant counts where the timing company publishes them. Prices are what you'd pay today, September 14.
| Race | When | Distance | Price today | Field | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gobbler's RunWake Forest · Boys & Girls Club | Thu Nov 268:00 AM | 5K | $20$25 in Oct · $50 race day | 2,953 | Biggest |
| Raleigh Turkey TrotRidgewood · Ridge Rd & Wade Ave | Thu Nov 268:30 AM | 8K | $35$37 Nov 1 · $40 race week | 2,690 | ★ The pick |
| Gallop & GorgeCarrboro · Weaver Street | Thu Nov 268:00 AM | 8K | $35$40 after Nov 24 | n/pnot published | Only if you're west |
| Inside-Out Sports Turkey TrotCary · 2002 Grisdale Ln | Thu Nov 269:00 AM | 8K + 1 mi | n/pon their page | n/pnot published | Latest start, medal |
| Skinny TurkeyNorth Raleigh · Wakefield High | Thu Nov 267:30 / 7:45 / 8:00 | Half · 10K · 5K · 1 mi | $355K · $45 race week | smallhundreds, not thousands | Dogs & distance |
| Apex Turkey TrotApex Community Park | Sat Nov 2110:00 AM | 5K | town recvia Apex Parks | 600 capfills a month early | Wrong day |
| Turkey Leg 5KKnightdale Station Park | Sat Nov 218:00 AM | 5K | $20 | ~300medals for first 300 | Wrong day |
Gobbler's Run is the largest field in the Triangle and the cheapest bib, and every dollar goes to the Wake Forest Boys & Girls Club. It's a great race. It's also a 5K in Wake Forest at 8:00, which means a 7:00 departure from most of Raleigh on the one morning you'd rather not. If the point is the crowd, it's below. If the point is a real run close to home, Ridgewood wins.
Each one is the right answer to a different question.
Twenty-one years old, nearly three thousand runners, and past a million dollars raised for the club it starts from. Cheapest bib on the board right now at $20, and kids five and under run free. Team registration is a thing here, so it's the one where whole families show up in matching shirts. Packet pickup Tue–Wed Nov 24–25, 4–7 PM, at the club.
The only one that runs a half marathon and a 10K on Thanksgiving morning, and the only big one that welcomes dogs and strollers on every distance. Starts and ends at Wakefield High School in North Raleigh — school lot, easy in and out. Smaller field, which is either the drawback or the appeal. Free Kids Drumstick Dash at 9:15. Prices step up October 1.
Cary's trot. Latest start on the board at 9:00, a one-mile walk at 8:30 for anyone who's not running, and medals for every 8K finisher, which Ridgewood doesn't do. Costumes encouraged. Packet pickup at the Inside-Out Sports store Wednesday noon–6 or race morning 7–8:45. Their registration page wasn't readable when this was built, so confirm the price there.
$35, not $40. And "or until sold out" is real — there's no race-morning registration if it fills. Signing up early is also the only way to lock the shirt size you want.
Orders of $113 or more get 13% off with the code FriendsAndFamily at the top of the registration page. That's four adult bibs. Someone in the group registers everyone in one go.
Saturday or Sunday Nov 21–22, noon to 4, lower lot at Ridgewood. It removes the entire 6:45 AM part of the day. Shirts not picked up by race morning get given away.
Meredith, Faircloth Road gate, outer edge, back in. The start line is a five-minute walk from anywhere in that lot; the drive out is what you're optimizing.
The pace signs are there so the first mile isn't a wall of walkers. Pick the sign that matches your real pace and the 8K takes care of itself. It's chip timed either way.
Ridgewood only runs the 8K. The closest big 5K on Thanksgiving morning is Gobbler's Run in Wake Forest; the closest 5K in Raleigh proper is Skinny Turkey's, at 8:00 in Wakefield. Both are on the board above. An 8K is 4.97 miles — a comfortable hour at a chat pace, and the pace rule is generous.
The whole morning on one screen. This is the part to screenshot.
Go run it. The morning is handled. Happy Thanksgiving from Raleigh.