2025 Whitefish Turkey Trot

Description

Join us for the 16th Annual Whitefish Turkey Trot!

Start off your Thanksgiving morning with a 5K run or walk around Whitefish, starting and ending outside of the O'Shaughnessy Center.

START TIME: Due to the expected number of participants, we will have two waves in this year's Turkey Trot: one for runners (starting at 8:30 am), and one for walkers (starting at 9:15 am).

COURSE: The Whitefish Turkey Trot is now in downtown Whitefish, with a slightly different route for 2025. The 5K course will start and end outside of the O'Shaughnessy Center. Participants will follow the bike path through the tunnel under Baker Ave and immediately make a hard left turn to go up and over the viaduct. Trotters will then follow the bike path to the four-way intersection and head right toward Washington Avenue. A sharp 180-degree turn will put trotters onto Edgewood Place. They will follow that road until taking a left on Iowa Ave. The a left onto Woodland Place, right on Minnesota Ave, right onto Waverly Place and left on Iowa will bring participants to Skyles Pl. Trotters will go down Skyles to City Beach, up Oregon Ave., and onto the bike path alongside the Whitefish River back to Depot Park.

The course is coned and marked very well, but it is open to traffic. Please remain on the right side of the road unless otherwise directed. There will be volunteers and certified flaggers at most intersections. (YOU can volunteer to be a course marshal by registering HERE — bring a friend and cheer on the trotters!)

Music devices and earbuds/earphones are strongly discouraged. For your safety and the safety of those around you, it is recommended that you leave the music at home on race day. If you do carry music, you must still be able to hear instructions from race officials, directions from course volunteers, motorists that may have made their way onto the course, and warnings from participants that may be overtaking you.

*This route is tentative and subject to changes depending on snow/ice conditions.

DONATIONS: In addition to the proceeds from this event, we encourage you to bring food donations to the food bank if you are able! In particular, the North Valley Food Bank will be in need of: turkeys, hams, fresh potatoes and yams, canned yams, canned corn, cranberry sauce, pie filling, dehydrated potatoes, stuffing, gravy mix, cornbread mix, crescent rolls, boxed pie crust, butter, olive oil, oats, flour, sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and/or salt and pepper.

FAQs

🐕 While we love our four-legged friends, the Whitefish Turkey Trot is NOT allowing dogs at the event this year due to the number of participants and narrow sections of the course. There is an exception for ADA Service Animals. Service animals must be on a non-retractable, 6 foot-or-less leash.

❄️ Please be advised that weather conditions are variable, and there is a HIGH likelihood of snow and/or ice on the course. While we will do our best to use sand or salt to provide a safe start and finish area, the rest of the course will be left up to Mother Nature. We highly recommend bringing Yaktrax or ice spikes for your running shoes!

☕ To provide some much needed warmth on race day, Folklore Coffee will be open on Thanksgiving Day from 7am to 11am, AND they will be generously donating 10% of their proceeds to the North Valley Food Bank!

🚗 Parking is free in downtown Whitefish, and there is a parking garage located at 402 E Second St. Due to the anticipated number of participants, we strongly recommend carpooling if possible!

🏆 As this is primarily a fundraising event, there will be no cash prizes. The top three men and top three women can expect a sweet treat for their accomplishments, and everyone wins the opportunity to get outside, have fun, and raise money for the North Valley Food Bank!

💧 There will be no aid stations along this route, however water and light refreshments will be available at the start/finish. Please plan accordingly!