Your plan in four answers
Dayton Turkey Trot has not announced its next date, so we have estimated November. Change the date below once you know it.
- Distances
- Half marathon, 5K
- Sport
- Running
Course
The Dayton Turkey Trot course
The Dayton Turkey Trot Half Marathon & 5K is a Thanksgiving weekend race whose 2026 edition, on Saturday, November 28, was the 12th. Both races start and finish on the track at Welcome Stadium (1601 S.
Read the full course notes
Edwin C. Moses Blvd.) and run on streets and paved paths along the Dayton riverfront on a USATF-certified course. The 5K and half start together at 8:30 am after a Kids Dash at 8:15, with limits of 1 hour 20 minutes for the 5K and 3 hours 30 minutes for the half. The race supports the Alzheimer's Association Miami Valley Chapter, and finishers get a commemorative medal and Bill's Donuts at the line. The 2027 date has not been announced yet.
- Distances
- Half marathon, 5K
- Weather on race day
- Ten years of late November weather data for Dayton show average highs near 46 °F and lows near 32 °F, with about 35 °F at 8 am. Rain or wintry showers fall on about three days in ten in this window. Wear gloves, a hat and layers you can shed, and warm up indoors or under cover before heading to the start.
What to train for
A late November half means a build through the fall, often the best training weather of the year: aim for a long run of 10 to 12 miles and a weekly tempo of 20 to 30 minutes at half marathon effort.
Riverfront paths suit steady pacing, so practise holding even splits and finishing strong on the track.
Plan for cold mornings in the final weeks by doing a few runs at the 8:30 am race time. Pacers are planned, so a group can help you settle into goal pace.
Sample week
A sample Dayton Turkey Trot training week
A week from the middle of the build, about six weeks out. Your plan sets the real distances and paces from your own fitness and adjusts them every week as you train.
- Monday
- Rest, or 20 minutes of mobility
- Tuesday Key session
- Intervals: 5 × 1 km at 5K to 10K effort, easy jog between
- Wednesday
- Easy run, 5–6 mi
- Thursday Key session
- Goal-pace run, 7 mi with 4 mi at race pace
- Friday
- Recovery run, 4 mi, or cross-train
- Saturday Key session
- Long run, 10–12 mi easy
- Sunday
- Easy run, 4 mi, then 6 relaxed strides
Taper
Tapering for the Dayton Turkey Trot
Start the taper ten to fourteen days before race day. Cut your weekly volume by about a third, then by half in race week, and keep a few short efforts at race pace so your legs stay sharp.
Also in Claude
Ask Claude for this plan
Add AthleteSpace to Claude once, then paste this prompt and put in your own numbers.
Build me a training plan for the Dayton Turkey Trot Half Marathon & 5K in November. I run [distance] a week, [days] days a week, easy pace [pace].
Dayton Turkey Trot training questions
How long should I train for the Dayton Turkey Trot?
Most runners give a half marathon twelve to sixteen weeks of focused training on top of an existing base. The plan above counts back from your actual race date, so if you have less time than that it builds the best plan the remaining weeks allow rather than pretending you have longer.
Is the Dayton Turkey Trot course hilly?
The Dayton Turkey Trot Half Marathon & 5K is a Thanksgiving weekend race whose 2026 edition, on Saturday, November 28, was the 12th.
What is the weather usually like at the Dayton Turkey Trot?
Ten years of late November weather data for Dayton show average highs near 46 °F and lows near 32 °F, with about 35 °F at 8 am. Rain or wintry showers fall on about three days in ten in this window. Wear gloves, a hat and layers you can shed, and warm up indoors or under cover before heading to the start.
When should I start tapering for the Dayton Turkey Trot?
Start the taper ten to fourteen days before race day. Cut your weekly volume by about a third, then by half in race week, and keep a few short efforts at race pace so your legs stay sharp.
Do I need an account to get a Dayton Turkey Trot training plan?
No. The plan above builds in your browser with no account, no email, and no card. Make a free account only if you want to keep it, log your runs against it, and have the coach keep adapting it as your training goes.