Named as one of the best Turkey Trots in the country, and ‘Top Trot’ in Iowa by Runner’s World Magazine 5 years in a row, The Des Moines Turkey Trot is Iowa’s largest Thanksgiving Day tradition. The run is like a highlight reel of Des Moines so get ready to …
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Named as one of the best Turkey Trots in the country, and ‘Top Trot’ in Iowa by Runner’s World Magazine 5 years in a row, The Des Moines Turkey Trot is Iowa’s largest Thanksgiving Day tradition.
The run is like a highlight reel of Des Moines so get ready to experience downtown Des Moines, or show it off to your visiting family and friends, while burning off some holiday carbs.
Athletes will start their Thanksgiving run with the Des Moines Courthouse as their backdrop in the heart of the Court Ave Entertainment District. From there, both 5K and 5-mile runners will make their way across the Des Moines River and through the center of the Historic East Village. A slight uphill will run athletes around the whole of the State Capitol Complex which offers the most famous view of downtown Des Moines. From there, it’s downhill for home!
5 Mile Athletes will finish their holiday “tour” with a scenic jaunt to the Botanical Center before returning across the Women’s Achievement Bridge and finishing by running in front of the historic World Food Prize building.
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Run Before You Eat!
This is a fun race to run before stuffing your face on Thanksgiving. The two major positives of this race are the course and the swag. The course is fantastic, … MORE
This is a fun race to run before stuffing your face on Thanksgiving.
The two major positives of this race are the course and the swag. The course is fantastic, running from the Court Avenue district, up to and around the Iowa State Capitol Building, and through the East Village before heading back downtown for the finish. 5-mile runners get extra time running past the Botanical Garden before returning downtown. The unique part for runners is the ability to change their race on the fly. When the course splits – one way is the finish to the 5K, while the other way branches off for the 5-miler – you have the opportunity to change your race if you prefer. I also loved the swag. At the expo, I received a reusable bag and a really cool knit winter hat. At the finish – a great ceramic mug! I don’t believe in finisher medals for 10K or shorter, so this was an inventive way to reward finishers.
I did experience two negatives on race day. First, there’s no separation between walkers and runners at the start. Participants go off in waves, but there’s no organization, so walkers and runners are free to go whenever they want. I went off in the third or fourth wave, and didn’t factor in all the walkers, so I was dodging walkers all the way until the course split, and then again when the 5-miler and 5K merged back up again. Especially on the narrow Women of Achievement Bridge near the end of the race, it was very difficult to dodge all the walkers. So for runners, I’d advise starting in the earliest wave possible. The second negative I experienced was that the course came up a little short for the 5-miler. Not a big deal, since I decided to not be timed, but still annoying.
Overall, I would run this again! The post-race area was crowded, but lively. It was a perfect pre-Thanksgiving workout.