While Thanksgiving may be the feast-iest day of the year, it’s also the running-est day of the year, at least according to Elvi Guzman, director of the Bayonne, N.J., Division of Recreation’s Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot 5K and 1 Mile Kids’ Fun Run.

From Santa Maria, Calif., to the shores of the Atlantic, thousands of cities, large and small, gather families, running clubs, cross-country teams, serious runners and fun runners for pre-feast races. That’s not counting the municipalities that hold races the weekends before and after Thanksgiving.

Turkey Trots and Turkey Runs have a long history, with the oldest in Buffalo, N.Y., in 1896, when six runners took to dirt roads in preparation for the calorie load of Thanksgiving dinner. The event continues to this day with a 5-mile run that attracts more than 10,000 runners on Thanksgiving morning.

Bayonne’s race is one of the newest in the country, organized last year to replace a long-standing football tradition between local New Jersey high school rivals Bayonne and Marist.

“Turkey Trots are great community events,” Guzman noted. Entry fees for races may benefit charitable causes, while the fees for some races just pay for the event itself. Proceeds from the Bayonne race support the city’s Division of Recreation Special Needs Sports Program and its Ability Day Program; The Buffalo race has benefitted the city’s YMCA for its 128-year history.

The scenery for each race varies according to the part of the country, the city’s facilities and the day when the race is held. In Herndon, Va., a suburb of Washington, D.C., the Turkey Trot 5K takes place the Saturday afternoon before Thanksgiving.

A Herndon tradition since the early 1980s, Cynthia Hoftiezer, deputy director of the town of Herndon Parks and Recreation Department, said the event is family-focused. Participants run or walk cross-country through the community’s golf course.

“That way we don’t have to close streets, and at that time of day, the activity on the golf course has wound down.”

Hoftiezer said that in the 40 years of the race’s life, the city has found ways to weave the life of the community into the event. In addition to families with children, participants include members of the high school cross-country team and, as a more recent addition, running clubs from the local elementary schools.

Additionally, race organizers have looked for ways to make registration and race results easier to track.

“Hire a timing company,” Hoftiezer advises anyone who is considering organizing a race. “It makes such a difference in keeping track of runners and their times.”

If participants don’t think they can win the race with lightning speed, they can come up with a clever costume for the event’s costume contest. In Herndon, individuals and groups can enter their costumes by reporting to the judges before the race. Prizes are awarded after the race: The top male and female runners took home a turkey, a pie and parks and recreation gift certificates.

“We try to figure out multiple ways to make the race different and fun each year,” Hoftiezer added.

Officials in Rye, N.Y., a northern suburb of New York City, agree that fun is the name of the game for Thanksgiving races. Erin Mantz, superintendent for recreation, noted that Rye is a big running community, so, the city’s race on the Saturday after Thanksgiving attracts between 1,000 and 1,200 runners – including entire families.

The morning begins with a 9 a.m. 1-mile Turkey Run and Paws Walk in the neighborhood around the recreation center. At 9:30 a.m. the 1-Mile Fun Run takes off, followed by the 3.1- and 5.2-miles races at 10 a.m.

Mantz said the feedback the city has received about the event has been overwhelmingly positive, particularly the way that city workers manage signage for each of the different events. “We have signs with arrows and volunteer flaggers along the routes. And we’ve had the same route for many years.” This, she believes, helps participants avoid confusion. Race maps and racers bibs are color-coded to help them stay on the appropriate routes.

The safety of participants is uppermost on the organizer’s mind. It’s the reason runners with strollers are started at the back of the pack; this keeps runners from tripping and youngsters from being tripped over.

She said another aspect to having the event well-managed is getting as many pre-registrations as possible. To encourage this, early registrations are $15, while registrations on race day are $20.

“And there’s nothing like a good shirt as a giveaway to keep things festive,” she added. Each year, the color and stylized turkey design are different.

Food is also a part of many of the races around the country. Sometimes it’s food trucks selling snacks to spectators, other times it’s local restaurants or sponsors providing sandwiches, fruit, granola bars, water and energy drinks to participants. In Herndon, race day ends with not just food, but music and adult beverages provided by a local beer company.

For cities that have not yet started their own Turkey Trots, Hoftiezer advised talking to race organizers from places that already have the event to learn the dos and don’ts of turkey trotting and fun running. “It’s helpful to know what works and what doesn’t.”

Guzman said that before organizing any race, it is important to assess the area’s demographics and learn if there is a running community to provide a base for the event. He also said it helps to have a cause such as a local charity or organization. His first race was to benefit breast cancer research. Races can be sanctioned by USA Track and Field, Guzman noted. These are measured races that may be as short as 3.1 miles – a 5K – or a full marathon of 26.2 miles. Non-sanctioned races include the shorter fun runs and are much less expensive to organize, he added.

Next Article: On the road again: The Leavenworth Nutcracker Museum