Thanksgiving morning, 45th edition
The Fort Worth YMCA Turkey Trot runs on Thanksgiving Day, November 26, 2026. The YMCA of Metropolitan Fort Worth lists the race as the 45th annual edition, presented by Texas Health and Moritz Kia.
Start and finish sit at General Worth Square in downtown Fort Worth. The YMCA FAQ lists the address as 916 Main Street, 76102.
The 1K Gobbler Trot starts at 7:45 a.m. The 5K and 8K start at 8:30 a.m. Awards follow the finish.
The course closes at 10:30
All courses close at 10:30 a.m. The YMCA asks any runner who needs a time accommodation to write to trot@ymcafw.org before November 10.
Road closures begin at 6 a.m. along parts of Commerce Street, Houston Street and Lancaster Avenue. The YMCA parking guide says roads typically reopen by 11 a.m., after the last runners finish.
That window leaves most of Thanksgiving open. A runner who crosses the line before 10:30 owns the afternoon.
Two blocks, two uses
hotelSlots sells daytime rooms in four blocks. Morning runs 6 a.m. to 12 p.m., Afternoon 12 p.m. to 6 p.m., Evening 6 p.m. to 12 a.m. and Overnight 12 a.m. to 6 a.m.
The Morning block covers a check-in at 6 a.m., a walk to the square, the race and a shower before noon. The Afternoon block covers the hours after the race, when downtown reopens and the desk work starts.
Windows near the start line
The 26 October read of the dayuse.com Fort Worth page lists fourteen priced cards. Each price below includes the booking fee.
Three cards open before the 7:45 a.m. gun. Comfort Suites Fort Worth North Fossil Creek runs 6 a.m. to 1 p.m. at $61 and stands 6.30 straight-line miles from the square. Courtyard by Marriott Fort Worth Historic Stockyards runs 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. at $177 and stands 2.97 miles out; its other windows are 8 to 4 and 11 to 7. Quality Inn West Fort Worth runs 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. at $55 and stands 7.20 miles out.
The nearest card is Embassy Suites by Hilton Fort Worth Downtown at 0.14 miles. Its single window runs 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at $123, which fits a runner who wants the room after the race.
The cheaper cards sit farther out. Days Inn by Wyndham South Fort Worth lists $66, Sonesta Simply Suites Fort Worth $66, La Quinta by Wyndham Fort Worth City View $71, SureStay Plus by Best Western Fort Worth Benbrook $71 and Holiday Inn Express Lake Worth $76. The fourteen cards run $55 to $177, and the mean sits at $84.14. Every card stands within 8.5 straight-line miles of the square.
Park before six
The YMCA parking guide lists garages within walking distance. City Center Garage at 401 Calhoun Street sits about 10 minutes away, Sundance Square Garage #3 at 345 West 3rd Street about 10 minutes, Sundance Square Garage #4 at 265 West 5th Street about 8 minutes, the garage at City Place at 300 Throckmorton Street about 12 minutes, the Amon G. Carter Jr. Downtown YMCA at 512 Lamar Street about 12 minutes, and First United Methodist Church at 800 West 5th Street about 15 minutes.
Accessible spaces sit near Houston Street and 9th Street, and the YMCA requires a valid placard. The guide asks runners to arrive early because garages fill behind the barricades.
What the entry buys
All finishers receive a medal. The first 10,000 5K finishers and the first 2,000 8K finishers receive the commemorative version, and the first 1,000 children in the Gobbler Trot receive a finisher award.
Dogs enter for $30 on a leash of 3 feet or shorter. They line up in the Dog Coral at the back of the corrals, and the first 400 dogs registered receive a swag item. Strollers come free with a registered parent. Bicycles, scooters, rollerblades and Heelys stay out. Walkers run the 5K only, from the back of the pack.
The VIP package runs $30 per participant plus the race fee and caps at 400 people. Groups of four or more take $5 off each registration. The 5K pays $500, $300 and $150 in cash to the top three overall finishers.
Water and fruit wait at the finish. Every race on the card is timed this year.
The booking
hotelSlots takes a city, a date and a block, then sends the request to hotels holding empty daytime rooms. Rates typically run 30-75% under the nightly rate at the same hotel. Submitting costs nothing, and the guest pays the hotel. The Fort Worth directory lists 255 hotels.
Proceeds support YMCA programs: preschool and afterschool care, water safety and swim lessons, day and overnight camp, youth sports and health programs.
Book the Morning block before the 6 a.m. closure. A room taken after the gun sits empty for the race.
