Ankeny Turkey Trot 5K

Ankeny Turkey Trot 5K is a festive Thanksgiving Day race in Ankeny, Iowa, in Polk County, run on November 26, 2026. The single format is a 5K run / walk (3.1 miles) with a 9:00 a.m. start. It welcomes participants of every age and is built to give the holiday an active start; every finisher picks up a doughnut at the end.

A run / walk 5K on Thanksgiving morning is more about turnout than times, and this one is a reasonable first bib if you have never pinned one on: 3.1 miles is walkable in under an hour and runnable off a few weeks of easy training. If you would rather race it, line up toward the front before the 9:00 a.m. start so you are not weaving through walkers early, and treat the effort as comfortably hard from the first half mile rather than sprinting the opening quarter. Iowa in late November is cold, so dress in a layer you can shed.