The Dallas YMCA Turkey Trot (commonly called The Trot) is an annual footrace over an course through the city of

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

(

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

). There is also a 5k run/walk. Participants may choose to register for the 5k as a timed or untimed runner. In 2005, 3,843 harriers completed the Trot, in addition to 22,668 runners in the , making the Dallas Turkey Trot the largest Thanksgiving race in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

and the second-biggest footrace in the state of Texas, with 26,511 total registered runners. The 2011 race attracted a record attendance of 36,820. The race is produced by the

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams (philanthropist), Georg ...

and has been run every year since 1968. 2008's title sponsor is Capital One Bank. The Capital One Bank Dallas YMCA Turkey Trot is held on

Thanksgiving Day Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Philippines. It is also observed in the Netherlander town of Leiden and ...

and attracts elite competitors and amateurs from all 50 states in America and 10 countries. Turkey Trot wheelchair racer

The race includes both runners and wheelchair racers.

History

The original Turkey Trot began in the 1940s and was run at

Fair Park Fair Park is a recreational and educational complex in Dallas, Texas, United States, located immediately east of downtown. The area is registered as a Dallas Landmark and National Historic Landmark; many of the buildings were constructed for th ...

in Dallas. The began running annually in 1968, with 107 runners being instructed to start from the Bath House Cultural Center at

White Rock Lake White Rock Lake is a reservoir located in north-east Dallas, Texas (United States). The lake was formed by damming White Rock Creek, which today widens into the lake before continuing south out of the spillway and emptying into the Trinity Rive ...

and run along the lake "to the big oaktree and back." However, the course was actually . Ralph Trimble won the event in a time of 41:59, and Nancy Norvell was the winner on the women's side in 54:40. The race quickly rose in popularity, and in 1979, The Trot was moved to the downtown area, near

Dallas City Hall Dallas City Hall is the seat of municipal government of the city of Dallas, Texas, United States. It is located at 1500 Marilla in the Government District of downtown Dallas. The current building, the city's fifth city hall, was completed in 19 ...

. The Fun Run was added in 1984 in order to accommodate the increased participation of children and families.

The course

The race begins next to City Hall and heads east into

Deep Ellum Deep Ellum is an American neighborhood composed largely of arts and entertainment venues near downtown in East Dallas, Texas. The name is based on a corruption of the area's principal thoroughfare, Elm Street. Older alternative uses include D ...

. After two left turns, the course then heads west back into downtown down Elm Street. At Griffin Street, the 5k participants turn left and finish the race back at City Hall. Still on Elm Street, the eight mile runners pass by the Bank of America Plaza. Elm turns into Houston Street, passing Dealey Plaza. The course then winds around site of the former

Reunion Arena Reunion Arena was an indoor arena located in the Reunion district of downtown Dallas, Texas. The arena served as the primary home of the National Hockey League's Dallas Stars and the National Basketball Association's Dallas Mavericks. The ...

and onto the Houston Street Viaduct for almost two miles (3 km), passing over the Trinity River. After a turn around on Zang Boulevard in

Oak Cliff Oak Cliff is a neighborhood of Dallas, Texas, that was formerly a separate town in Dallas County; Dallas annexed Oak Cliff in 1901. It has since retained a distinct neighborhood identity as one of Dallas' older established neighborhoods. Oak C ...

, the race moves on the Jefferson St. Viaduct, "The Mile Long Bridge" parallel to the Houston Strett Viaduct. On Jefferson, runners can see the beautiful Dallas skyline as they reenter Downtown. A quick turn east on Young Street then a slant onto Marrilla terminates the race right next to City Hall.

2006

Australian Shawn Forrest, a member of the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and the largest university in the state. Founded as Arkansas ...

cross country team, was the overall winner in a time of 39:10, being the first runner to break 40 minutes since 2000, and the fastest time since 1998. Melisa Christian of Dallas won the woman's event in 45:59. Christian followed up her runner-up finish of 2005's Trot, which was run in 48:11.

2009

The overall winner in 2009 was Justin Meaders in a wheelchair, with a winning time of 38:46. The men's running winner was Scott MacPherson, just behind with a time 38:47. The fastest woman was Melisa Christian with a time of 46:29.

2012

* 8 Mile Winners : Male: Bobby Zeller of Flower Mound, TX, 42:45 : Female: Melisa Christian of Dallas, TX, 47:50 * 5k Winners : Male: William Huffman of Colleyville, TX, 16:12 : Female: Karoline Skatteboe of Dallas, TX, 17:04 * Wheelchair Division : Dusan Hrasko of Plano, TX, 49:06

Trivia

* ''Course Records:'' : Male: Tom Marino, 37:47 (1980)- According to the article's own records (List of winners of the Dallas Turkey Trot), Tom Hess set the course record in 1971 with a time of 37:07. Female: Francie Smith, 42:56 (1990) * ''Winningest Runners:'' : Male: Ben Moturi - 4 times (1981-84) : Female: Ingrid Mollenkopf - 5 times (2014-2017, 2019)

Men's winners

* 1968 Ralph Trimble 41:59 * 1969 Wayne Corner 41:18 * 1970 Richard Shay 43:23 * 1971 Tom Hess 37:05 * 1972 Tom Hess 39:40 * 1973 Richard Pettigrew 42:30 * 1974 Richard Pettigrew 40:45 * 1975 Richard Pettigrew 40:32 * 1976

Jeff Wells Jeff Wells (born 25 May 1954) is a marathon runner and pastor, originally from Madisonville, Texas, United States. Running Wells attended Rice University, majored in history, and was named an All-American four times in cross country and track. ...

39:32 * 1977 John Lodwick 39:14 * 1978 Chris Stewart 39:18 * 1979 Marcus Nenow 38:50 * 1980 Tom Marino 37:47 * 1981 Ben Moturi 38:42 * 1982 Ben Moturi 39:20 * 1983 Ben Moturi 38:41 * 1984 Ben Moturi 38:31 * 1985 Stann Vernon 38:39 * 1986 Calvin McGill 39:22 * 1987 Robert Wallace 39:48 * 1988 Joel Chemwetich 39:54 * 1989 Robert Wallace 39:48 * 1990 Andres Espinosa 38:49 * 1991 Andres Espinosa 38:18 * 1992 Keith Johnson 39:13 * 1993 Juan Carlos Chaves 38:36 * 1994 Marcello Crisanto 38:04 * 1995 Justin Chaston 39:54 * 1996 Julio Caesar Valle 38:35 * 1997 Julius Randichi 38:55 * 1998 Dan Browne 38:33 * 1999 Santos Ortega 40:28 * 2000 Delmir dos Santos 39:19 * 2001 Paul Ndachi 40:55 * 2002 Dan Browne 40:19 * 2003 Weldon Johnson 41:02 * 2004 Andrew Cook 40:42 * 2005 Logan Sherman 40:43 * 2006 Shawn Forrest 39:10

References

External links

Official Dallas Turkey Trot Website
{{Thanksgiving Long-distance running competitions Recurring sporting events established in 1968 Sports in Dallas Road running competitions in the United States 1968 establishments in Texas