Ready, Set, Go!

Tenth Edition of Local 5/10K Run Set for Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Day in the Palisades will once again begin with what is fast becoming a proud community tradition. The 10th annual Pacific Palisades Turkey Trot takes place at Palisades Charter High School on November 28. The holiday 5K and 10K will start promptly at 8 a.m. and is anticipated to draw 2,200 participants and 2,500 spectators. The local event has grown in popularity and participation since debuting in 2013.

 This year’s race will feature the same 5K course route through the El Medio Bluffs but the 10K course, which was added in 2015, will no longer include Temescal Canyon Road, instead simply traversing the 5K route twice, ending with a full lap around the track  before finishing at the 50-yard line at Stadium by the Sea. This year also introduces a kids’ race for children ages 5-10. All runners will receive a complimentary swag bag containing an event t-shirt, a chip-timed bib and other gift items. Results will be posted shortly after the race at www.paliturkeytrot.com/results.

Registration is underway on the race website (paliturkeytrot.com). Cost is $69.90 for the 5K, $80.50 for the 10K and 445.52 for the kids’ race. Prices will increase after Nov. 15. Packet pick-up will be in the concierge area of the Swarthmore Room at Palisades Village from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday, Nov. 25 through Wednesday, Nov.27.

Event organizers strongly urge runners to come to Palisades Village one of those days to pick up their gear early to avoid lines on Thanksgiving morning. Street closures will be in place from 5:30 to 11 a.m. on race day. Charities are Day of Giving, Fire Stations 69 and 23 and Desit.org.

Almost 1,500 runners woke up early last Thanksgiving to participate in the ninth annual race. The 5K field included 1,262 runners (604 male, 658 female) with an average time of 40:49. An additional 200 runners (105 male, 95 female) registered for the 10K with an average time of 58:20.

Lifelong Palisadian Sam Laganà was the emcee and the 2023 Beach Volleyball Hall of Fame inductee and LA Rams stadium announcer fired up the runners and the spectators in the bleachers with his trademark flair and enthusiasm. Race founder David Houston wore his customary turkey outfit and rode ahead of the pack on his scooter to show the way to rookie runners unfamiliar with the route.

Luke Zanuck, a sophomore on the track team at Williams College in Massachusetts, shattered the 5K record, completing the 3.1-mile course through the El Medio Bluffs in 15:36. Brentwood resident Will Sheehy had set the previous mark of 16:27 the previous year, three seconds faster than the 16:30 run by Ramin Razavi in 2016 and tied three years later by defending champion Thomas Fitzpatrick. David Olds won the inaugural race in 2013 with a time of 16:48 in a field of about 850 runners.