The Turkey Trot Moves to Riverside Boulevard, and Its 10K Now Runs Down Broadway

On Sunday, November 22, the start line of Long Beach's Turkey Trot will be on the boardwalk at Riverside Boulevard. That spot will hold the T-shirt table, the start and the finish. In 2023 and 2024 all of it happened at New York Avenue. The City's race page announces the change at the top with "NEW LOCATION!!!" and gives 1 Riverside Blvd as the GPS address for race morning.

The date and the kids' race are the same as before. The 10K course has changed, and part of it now runs on Broadway.

From New York Avenue to Riverside Boulevard

For the past few years the race was easy to find. The EliteFeats event pages put the 2023 and 2024 start and finish at New York Avenue and the boardwalk, and both described the course as "flat and fast." Last year the City held day-of registration and shirt pickup indoors, in the Long Beach Catholic Regional School gymnasium at 735 West Broadway.

This year the whole operation moves outdoors to one spot. According to the City's Turkey Trot page, day-of registration and T-shirt pickup run from 7:00 to 8:00 a.m. on Riverside Boulevard at the boardwalk. The children's one-mile race starts there at 8:30 a.m. and the 10K at 9:00 a.m. The City is calling it the 21st annual City Council Turkey Trot.

The new start also comes with a new route.

The 10K, Turn by Turn

The City lists the 2026 course as a series of turns. In order, the 10K goes like this:

1. Start on the boardwalk at Riverside Boulevard.
2. Run west on the boards to New York Avenue.
3. Leave the boardwalk and head to Broadway.
4. Run Broadway eastbound, with traffic, to Neptune Boulevard.
5. Return to the boardwalk at Neptune.
6. Run west on the boards to Washington Boulevard.
7. Make a left-shoulder turn on the boards at Washington.
8. Run east on the boards to the finish at Riverside.

That makes Neptune Boulevard the eastern end of the course and Washington Boulevard the western end. Runners pass the Riverside start twice before they finish there: once on Broadway and once on the boards heading west. Spectators standing at Riverside will see the 10K field go by more than once.

The Broadway stretch is the biggest change. The course notes say runners go eastbound "with traffic." If you live on Broadway between New York Avenue and Neptune, or drive it on Sunday mornings, expect runners on the street with you around 9:00 a.m. on November 22.

The 2026 race application also says no strollers or walkers are allowed on the race course. If your family usually comes with a stroller, the boardwalk near Riverside is the place to watch, not the course.

A Field That Keeps Growing

More runners are using the course each year. Counted from EliteFeats' posted results, the 2023 race had 141 finishers in the 10K and 55 in the one-mile, 196 in all. In 2024 those numbers rose to 181 and 121, a total of 302. The children's race more than doubled in one year, and it accounts for most of the growth.

The Long Beach Herald's 2024 coverage gives a sense of race morning. The paper described hundreds of young runners at the start of the 8:30 a.m. children's race. A 14-year-old won the one-mile well ahead of the field. Michael O'Donnell won the 10K in just over 38 minutes, and Sara Dowling was the first woman to finish. The Herald also ran a photo of Parks and Recreation Commissioner Joe Brand with the two 10K winners. EliteFeats timed O'Donnell at 38:19.97 and Dowling at 39:48.81.

The same Herald story listed that year's sponsors: Long Beach Nursing and Rehabilitation, Mount Sinai South Nassau as a supporting sponsor, and Bethpage Federal Credit Union for the T-shirts.

Results are now posted for 2025 as well. EliteFeats lists John Ray as the 10K winner in 31:37.87 and Kathy Davidson as the first woman in 40:59.55 at the November 23, 2025 race.

Why It's the Sunday Before, and What Else Lands That Week

Every year some people show up on Thanksgiving morning expecting a race. Long Beach's City-run Turkey Trot is held the Sunday before. The City's 2026 calendar marks Thanksgiving on Thursday, November 26, four days after the race. The pattern holds in past years too: the 2023 race was on November 19 and the 2024 race on November 17.

The race is also the last event of the City's year. The Long Beach Race Series 2026 began with the Snowflake 4 Mile Race on February 7. It continued with Race To Remember in May, the Fabulous 4th Of July Race 4K, the LB Biathlon, the Kiefer Swim-Paddle-Run, the Lifeguard One-Mile Swim and the Labor Day 5-Mile Race, and it ends with the Turkey Trot 10K and 1-Mile.

The Turkey Trot is one of several City events planned around Thanksgiving week:

• Thanksgiving Can Drive: The City Council collects canned goods in the City Hall lobby for the Long Beach Soup Kitchen through November 20, two days before the race.
• Race-morning food collection: The EliteFeats registration page asks every runner to bring a non-perishable food item to help people in need in the community.
• Veterans Day Commemoration: Earlier in the month, on Wednesday, November 11, the City's calendar lists a ceremony at City Hall at 10:30 a.m.
• Kennedy Plaza Christmas Tree Lighting: Friday, December 4, according to the City's 2026 calendar.

Race Morning, From Registration to Awards

The application lays out the schedule:

Fees on the City's application:

• One-mile race for ages 14 and under: $15.
• 10K pre-registration: $35 through November 19 at 4:00 p.m.
• Race-day entry: $45, online or cash.

If you register online through EliteFeats, the prices include a processing fee. That page lists the 10K at $38.98 before its November 19 cutoff and $49.33 after, and the one-mile fun run at $23.45. The page also says runners who sign up by November 1 get their name printed on their bib. You can also mail a paper form, with a check payable to The City of Long Beach, to Long Beach Parks & Recreation at 700 Magnolia Boulevard. The race runs rain or shine.

Awards go to many age groups. In the one-mile race, the top three boys and top three girls win in two groups, 10 and under and 11 to 14. In the 10K, the top three men and women win in age groups from 14 and under through 80 and over. There are also awards for the first overall male and female finishers and the top overall wheelchair finisher. Timing is electronic, by EliteFeats. If you have questions, Parks and Recreation is at 516-431-3890.

From this Thursday, the $35 pre-registration window has three weeks left. It closes Thursday, November 19, at 4:00 p.m. That's also the day before the last day of the Can Drive, so you can register and drop off canned goods at City Hall the same week.

We'll be watching for the new Riverside start on November 22, and we love hearing about who's running for the first time and who's coming back. If you're thinking about the neighborhoods along the new route, or anywhere else on the barrier island, Lucky To Live Here is happy to talk Long Beach with you. Contact Us.