Every family has their own traditions. Our family tradition is waking up early on Thanksgiving and driving down to Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot. Our whole family meets there and of course, someone always brings donuts and coffee. You either run or walk in the race or you volunteer at the …
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Every family has their own traditions. Our family tradition is waking up early on Thanksgiving and driving down to Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot. Our whole family meets there and of course, someone always brings donuts and coffee. You either run or walk in the race or you volunteer at the start line or you get to watch all the little ones while we all run. This might sound a little strange but with everyone’s schedules so busy and life going 1000 mph its one of the only times that we can all get together and do something. It brings our family together. Stories like this aren’t uncommon, every family has their own tradition.
The Seal Beach Turkey Trot is here to help create those new traditions. This will be the Inaugural event and will not only be here to create those new traditions, but we want to start some more of our own. The Seal Beach Turkey Trot has partnered with Grateful Hearts and Project SEEK to help raise funds and awareness in our community. Through this event, our goal is to donate over 300-holiday meals for families in need in our community with Grateful Hearts and to help raise funds for our local schools through Project SEEK.
We are excited to start this new tradition with you and help bring the community together and create new traditions.
5K/10K Information
The Seal Beach Turkey Trot offers one of the best courses in the country with a small town downtown feel with beautiful ocean views.
All races start and finish in the historic downtown Seal Beach’s Main Street. All participants will start on Main Street at Central Ave and heads towards the Ocean.
Once there they will turn left on Ocean Ave to Electric Ave. Participants will u-turn at Electric Ave and head back past the Famous Seal Beach Pier to 1st Street. Participants will then turn right on Marine Drive and u-turn and make their way back to 1St Street.
They will continue to 1st Street to Ocean Ave and then back to Main Street. Everyone will finish going back down Main St to the finish line at Main St and Central Ave.
“Don’t be A Turkey” Trot
The Kids “Don’t Be a Turkey” Trot will be a 1K fun run/walk that starts on the historic Downtown Main Street and proceeds to the Seal Beach Pier. A short jog on the pier and then back to the Start/Finish Line.
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A festive, family-friendly holiday race
Parking/ Pre-race: -Parking was a tad confusing in the early morning since so many streets were blocked. However, I was able to find a few good spots near Main St … MORE
Parking/ Pre-race:
-Parking was a tad confusing in the early morning since so many streets were blocked. However, I was able to find a few good spots near Main St and Electric, just north of the starting line. A good number of port-a-potties, and plenty of space to gather and stretch along Main Street leading up to Hennessey’s Tavern. Bib pick-up was quick and easy on race-day.
Course:
-The 10k course is basically a double-loop of the 5k: start/finish from Main St, the majority of the miles along Ocean Ave, with a small detour along a beachside park. It’s a very flat course, so there’s some PR potential if you’re willing to dodge the crowds and walkers. There’s one water station around the 2-mile/5-mile mark. Weather was cold and overcast in the 50s, so any pleasant beach views were very muted.
Post-race/Swag:
-Depending on the race distance you signed up for, the official race shirts came in various basic colors like white and navy blue (the 10k). The shirt design was pretty plain, featuring the race logo in the center. I do wish the shirts were a little more Thanksgiving/fall-themed, maybe coming in oranges, browns, or reds, instead of the whites and blues.
The finisher medal is a solid silver design, featuring the race logo (a leaf? turkey feathers?), with the 10k and 5k medals only differing in the colored ribbons attached.
Post-race goodies: bottled water and some free photo opps.
The Bottom Line:
-A good time if you’re looking for a fun Turkey Trot, would recommend!
Well Produced Inaugural Event
This was the first year for the Seal Beach Turkey Trot and the turnout was very good considering the number of competing Turkey Trots in Southern California during the coming … MORE
This was the first year for the Seal Beach Turkey Trot and the turnout was very good considering the number of competing Turkey Trots in Southern California during the coming week. Two examples that show that the race organizers know what they are doing—the bib pickup at the expo was stress free and there were plenty of port-a-potties near the start! The course for the 5K was fast and flat. The 10K added a second loop to the 5K course. For those who collect medals, the medal was very nice. Highly recommend this event for those who missed it this year!