Kicking off the holidays: Cleveland Turkey Trot prepares for 44 years of Thanksgiving tradition
Enter FreshWater’s Turkey Trot Costume Contest
While Clevelanders prepare for Thanksgiving and the 44th Annual Cleveland Turkey Trot in downtown Cleveland, for the second year, FreshWater Cleveland will sponsor its second annual Turkey Trot Costume Contest for race participants and their pets, who choose to “dress” for the event.
The costume contest winners will be selected in three categories—individual, group, and pet. The individual and group winners will be awarded FreshWater T-shirts and other goodies. The pet costume contest winner will receive a pet gift basket thanks to Hollywood Feed in Rocky River.
Last year’s winners were Buddy the Elf (who still remains unidentified) for the individual category; The Grinch Family (Kaleigh and Joseph S. from Elyria) won a Cleveland Museum of Art membership, MAGNET cookie cutters, and FreshWater swag for the group category; and Anthony E.’s winning dog from Lakewood won gift certificates to Luca's Barkery in Ohio City, special dog treats, and a toy; while Anthony won FreshWater swag.
FreshWater Cleveland will accept photo submissions, starting after the event on Thursday, Nov. 27.
Email photos to: TurkeyTrotPics@freshwatercleveland.com.
Full contest instructions can be found on FreshWater’s Turkey Trot page.
Neroni says the costume creativity runs the gamut each year. "We're going to see a lot of people dressed as turkeys,” he observes. “A lot of people dress as pilgrims.”
Neroni recalls a particularly memorable costume one year, where a group of people each dressed as a Thanksgiving dinner item. “There were probably eight or nine people in that grouping—from stuffing to the cranberries to the turkey to whatever."
He says other creative costumes in the past have included “someone dressed up as a table—with the settings, the plates, and all the stuff on the table," he recalls, adding that he's also seen a married couple where "one of our runners dresses up as like a Thanksgiving chef and his wife dresses up as an old-time waitress.
Neroni adds that they have a bank of photos of the race participants, dating back to 2021—to document the winners in each division, as well as the creative costumes.
The streets of downtown Cleveland will come alive on Thanksgiving morning, Thursday, Nov. 27, when thousands of runners in festive costumes and full of holiday spirit participate in the 44th Annual Cleveland Turkey Trot.
Having a fun run at Turkey Trot.Hermes Cleveland’s race organizer Joe Neroni says he expects this year's Turkey Trot to be the biggest yet—potentially breaking the 10,000-runner count.
"Last year we had like 9,225 runners, and we're ahead of that pace by a couple hundred runners already," Neroni says. "My guess is we'll have 9,600 to 9,800 runners—but if the weather holds out, which is looking relatively good, we could hit that 10,000 mark.”
Turkey Trots are the most popular road race in the country with events in all 50 states, says Neroni. The first Turkey Trot was held in 1896 in Buffalo with just six runners.
Cleveland’s own Turkey Trot has grown every year since its founding in 1981. “It started back in the Cleveland Metroparks,” Neroni explains. “The race evolved—it went to Burke Lakefront Airport, the Galleria [at Erieview], and now [we’re in] our current home at Public Hall. The number of races also evolved from just a five-mile and one-mile race. A number of years ago, we added the 5K.”
The three race lengths in the modern-day Trot emphasize the holiday tradition is all about “fun, fitness, and making memories,” Neroni says, adding that every participant receives a finisher medal.
Add to the races some live music, charitable donations, after-race celebrations, and, of course, the costumes for both people and pets—and you get one of the most anticipated events of Fall, says Neroni.
"It's a tradition, it's a family tradition, it's a Thanksgiving morning tradition," he says. "People are coming out, they're just having a lot of fun, a lot of photos, a lot of all that kind of thing."
Making preparations
Before 10,000 people can descend upon Public Hall on Thanksgiving morning, organizers face a massive logistical undertaking.
Turkey Tu-tus."We're ordering 300 gallons of water just for the water stops," says Neroni, “and probably five pallets of water for the finish line."
To avoid the registration chaos on race day, organizers have been conducting early packet pickup around the city throughout this week, and will continue through Tuesday—processing about 7,000 registrations to ease the registration on race morning, when they will process another 3,000 participants.
Early pickup locations include Fleet Feet stores, Dick's Sporting Goods locations, Viking Public House, and the Cleveland State University Recreation Center, with a final pickup opportunity on Tuesday, Nov. 25 at the new Dick's House of Sport in Strongsville.
Dogs are welcomed at Turkey Trot.Helping others
The race helps raise money for numerous local charities, including the Greater Cleveland Food Bank, Cleveland Rape Crisis Center, Greater Cleveland Young Marines, Love Doesn't Shove, Easterseals, and Cuyahoga County Children and Family Services.
Participants can donate to their chosen charity during registration and Hermes Sports & Events, where Neroni handles sponsorship sales and new business development, will supplement those donations.
Additionally, organizers during the non-perishable food drive will deliver donations to Catholic Charities, Diocese of Cleveland’s St. Augustine Hunger Center and West Side Catholic Center.
The Turkey Trot kicks off
The Cleveland Turkey Trot begins at 9:30 a.m., with plenty of support for the race participants.
Cleveland Cavaliers mascot Sir C.C. will start all three races and walks. "That's a big photo op, especially with the kids," Neroni notes.
Enjoying the 2024 Turkey Trot.The national anthem will be performed by Great Lakes Theater actor and singer Jessie Cope Miller, a who had previously appeared in the company’s "A Christmas Carol.” Miller has been the race's anthem singer since 2016, says Neroni. "She just knocks it out of the park.”
DJ Kyro, who is the DJ for the Cleveland Guardians, will be spinning tunes at both the starting and finish lines, while the high energy indie rock duo MOSSOM will perform at Mall C throughout Turkey Trot.
Post-race celebrations
After crossing the finish line, runners receive finisher medals and refreshments—including Magnetic Springs water, pretzels, granola, and bananas.
This year features a unique addition: Goodles has donated 10,000 boxes of mac and cheese for participants, as part of a promotional partnership as the product launches in Walmart and Target stores.
The Hilton Cleveland Downtown is offering special packages for out-of-town participants, including 25% off best rates with free parking, as well as food and beverage specials.
In fact, many bars and restaurants will be celebrating post Turkey Trot with food and drink specials, according to Neroni. "Those places are always packed, too, after the race," he observes.
