About The Turkey Trot

Come Run With Us

Welcome to the DC Area's Premier Thanksgiving Day Race!

Join us for a memorable Thanksgiving celebration with the Alexandria Turkey Trot. Here’s what makes our event special:

Scenic Course: Enjoy 5 beautiful, flat, and fast miles through the charming heart of Del Ray.
Family & Pet-Friendly: Perfect for families, and even your furry friends are welcome!
Community Spirit: Be part of an incredible gathering with 6,000 participants.
All Abilities Welcome: Whether you're a runner or a walker, everyone is invited to join in.
Convenient Access: Easily accessible via Metro, making your race day hassle-free.

For detailed information please visit the info page.

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You can still register by clicking the big yellow button below.

2025 Grand Marshals

To honor and celebrate the 50th Annual Alexandria Turkey Trot, we are thrilled to announce three truly amazing and well-deserving Grand Marshals!

Grand Marshal: The Honorable James Clark

Our first Grand Marshal is the Honorable James Clark, a respected, recently retired Circuit Court judge for the 18th Judicial Circuit Court of Virginia. As a third-generation Alexandrian and graduate of T.C. Williams High School (now Alexandria City High School), Judge Clark has a tie to the Turkey Trot that is unmatched:

He ran in the very first Turkey Trot in 1975 and has run EVERY YEAR since then!

This impressive streak includes the year the race was officially canceled due to snow—Judge Clark still went out and ran the course on his own. This year marks his 50th Turkey Trot! While he will have a Grand Marshal car at the race start, be sure to look for him running alongside you on the course.

Grand Marshals: Brian Danza and Paul Thompson

Our next two Grand Marshals are the individuals critically responsible for making the Turkey Trot the premier certified 5-mile race it is today, drawing record runners from around the globe.

Brian Danza and Paul Thompson served as Race Directors for the DC Road Runners for decades, and their contributions are legendary:

Brian Danza: Retiring after 15 years as Race Director, Brian brought professionalism, introduced chip timing, added pre-packet pick-up, and created the popular stroller and dog categories. He was the force behind our record-setting participation numbers.
Paul Thompson: Serving as Race Director for two decades, Paul modernized registration and brought the race into the modern age.

Simply put, the Alexandria Turkey Trot would not have reached its amazing popularity and participation levels without these two incredible leaders over the last 35 years. We are excited to have them in their Grand Marshal car at the beginning of this year’s race!

Elite Runners

Meet our field of Elite runners for this year.

Race Schedule

Sun-Mon-Tue Nov 23-25	Early Packet Pickup: Alexandria Toyota Pacers Running Old Town	2:00pm – 5:00pm
Wed 26th Nov	Wednesday Packet Pickup	6:00pm – 8:00pm

Thur 27th Nov	Raceday Packet Pickup	7:30am – 8:45am
Thur 27th Nov	Race Start	9:00am –
Thur 27th Nov	Racecourse Closes	– 10:30am
Thur 27th Nov	Award Ceremony	10:30am – 11:30am