Ames Turkey Trot
About this race
What is better on Thanksgiving Day than starting out with a fun 5K? Get ready for your turkey and potatoes through the streets of Ames with your favorite running & walking buddies! The course will weave you from beautiful downtown Ames through some of the best parts of our Cyclone city and finish right back where we started. Enjoy a family-friendly 5K open to all ages, speeds, and abilities! There will be fun vibes and refreshments for everyone at the finish line to enjoy before heading home for your Thanksgiving fun! Every participant registered by 11/14 gets a race t-shirt to commemorate the excitement, and a finisher's medal to celebrate the accomplishment!
Our NEW Turkey Tot Trot will take kiddos through the beautiful downtown of Main & 5th to get their Trot on too! Participants will receive a unique Ames Turkey Trot coloring book and race medal to celebrate their festive feat!
Packet Pickup will be at Fitness Sports - Ames on Wednesday 11/26 from 11:00am - 5:00pm, and Thursday morning from 7:30am-8:45am. We highly encourage as many participants to pickup their own packets on Wednesday to reduce wait times and to enjoy the special offers, deals, and coupons given by our amazing race sponsors!
5K participants are only guaranteed a shirt if they sign up before 11/14/25! After that point, we cannot guarantee you will receive one, so don't wait to get registered and secure your items!
Pick your distance
Running
5K
Typical race-day weather
Based on 2 years of Open-Meteo archive data for this event's race dates in Ames, plus the 3 days either side.
The sun rises at 7:17 AM and sets at 4:45 PM local time (CST) in Ames on November 26, 2026 — 9h 28m of daylight.
Course
No course map published yet.
The organizer hasn't released a route for this event, and we don't publish guesses. If you're the organizer, send us a GPX file and we'll draw the profile.
Reviews
Done this event?
If you've participated in this event, share your experience with other runners
Other races near Ames
Different organizers, within 40 miles, in the next three months
Mind Over Miles 5K
Back The Blue Pump N Run
Move for Adoption by Iowans for Adoption
Boone FLEXgivin' 5K
🏃 Plan Your Next Race in Ames
Find upcoming events by distance:
- Ames 5K Races 7 races
- Ames Running Calendar 2026 7 races
Where this page comes from. Race details were last updated on . We re-check listings regularly and again in the week before race day.
- Entries, prices, waves and inclusions — the event's official registration page
- Temperature and humidity — Copernicus ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo (CC BY 4.0)
- Elevation and terrain relief — Copernicus DEM GLO-90, ESA (CC BY 4.0)
- Comparisons and counts — Race Discovery calendar, 8 Ames events
Spotted something wrong? Tell us and we'll fix it.