Bethel Turkey Trot

Name: Bethel Turkey Trot
Start: 2026-11-26T00:00:00-05:00
End: 2026-11-26T23:59:59-05:00
Location: Bethel Municipal Center

Thursday November 26

The Bethel Turkey Trot held on Thanksgiving in Bethel, CT, presented by Ingersoll Auto of Danbury is a challenging 5K course through the beautiful neighborhoods of the iconic town. The Bethel Turkey Trot is sure to be a great way to start your Thanksgiving holiday weekend!

A portion of the proceeds will go to two local non-profits:

Bethel Parks and Recreation, which provides Bethel residents the opportunity to participate in a wide variety of active and passive activities for pre-school age through senior citizens.
Ability Beyond, a local Bethel non-profit dedicated to empowering every person, no matter their ability, to have the opportunity to live, work and thrive as an integral part of their community.

The Bethel Turkey Trot is a loop course with the first 1/3 mile and last 1/3 mile being the same, but in reverse. It’s a moderately uphill course in the first half and a downhill course in the second half. It’s sure to be a fast finish! Please see the course maps below for more detail.

REGISTRATION OPENS AUGUST 1

5K

$30 early registration through October 1
$35 October 1 -31
$37.50 November 1-15
$40 November 16 – Race Day

**18 and UNDER $25 including on race day.

Refund Policy: There will no refunds and/or no transfers of your registration or bib to any other person. Entry fees collected are used to develop and produce the event, starting well in advance of the race date–including course preparation, race supplies, permits, and administration.

Event Location

Bethel Municipal Center

1 School St.
Bethel, CT 06801 United States + Google Map

Start Times

Race Start >>> 8:00AM

Course Maps

5K road loop starting from downtown Bethel

Download 5K GPX File

Race Info

November 26

6:45 a.m. Packet Pickup**
8:00 a.m. Race Start
9:00 a.m. Awards Ceremony

**Packet Pickup also available the day before at The Athlete’s Source in Bethel from 12-6 p.m.

These rules are meant to make your experience during any Steep Endurance event a positive one. Most of these are common sense type policies that you will see at any road race.

Be aware of general hazards on the course (potholes, cars, etc.)
Staying on Course: Following the marked course is MANDATORY. The course will be well marked with markings on the road and signage. Runners cutting the course will be disqualified.
Dropping from the Race: If runners intend to drop out of the race, they must do so (unless in case of emergency) by notifying one of the course marshals at various locations on the course. Failure to do so means for all intensive purposes that the runner is lost, activating search and rescue. Time that is spent searching for a runner will be billed to such runner.
Runners will be advised that the Race Director or course marshals may pull any runner from the race at any time for gross negligence of the above rules.
Absolutely No Littering! The race is on completely on the Town of Bethel streets. Please respect that we are using them for the race. Failure to do so could jeopardize future events.
Race entries/bib numbers are not transferrable–hence NO unofficial runners
Following the marked course is MANDATORY. The course will be well marked with necessary course markings. Please do not cut the course. Any runner caught doing so will be disqualified.
If runners intend to drop out of the race, they must do so (unless in case of emergency) by notifying one of the course marshals at various locations on the course. Failure to do so means for all intensive purposes that the runner is lost, activating search and rescue. Time that is spent searching for a runner will be billed to such runner.
The use of personal music devices is strongly discouraged at this race. To enjoy all that our race has to offer and for the safety of all participants, Steep Endurance encourages a headphone-free environment during the running of the Bethel Turkey Trot. We believe your race experience and those around you will be greatly enhanced by leaving the headphones at home or in the car. Running headphone-free allows opportunities to develop camaraderie with your fellow runners and to enjoy everything the race has to offer. Plus, volunteers and spectators will be on course cheering you on and providing directions to help get you to the finish line. Runner safety is a a top priority for our events.
SMILE and enjoy the race! You get to have more turkey after you’ve run!

Awards will be presented in the following age groups for both men and women:

Overall
12 & under
13-19
20-29
30-39
40-49
50-59
60-69
70+

You’ve just finished the very first Bethel Turkey Trot! Enjoy your accomplishment, sit back, relax, and don’t forget to cheer on all the runners coming in behind you! We will have the usual spread including bagels, fruit, energy bars, and non-alcoholic hydration options. We’ll leave the turkey to you later in the day. Stick around for our famous raffle too with 40+ prizes from local businesses, restaurants and shops.

November is a peaceful time of year in Connecticut with the holiday season upon us. Average high temperatures around Thanksgiving are usually in the low 40’s with low temperatures in the high 20’s. That’s excellent running weather!

Bethel is an very typical New England town with great shopping, outdoor activities, and plethora of pizza parlors and ice cream shops. There are plenty of places to stay in and around Bethel if you want to spend a night or two. Click on this link for more information.

Set in hilly terrain, the town of Bethel in Fairfield County lies near Connecticut’s border with New York. Settled as part of Danbury in 1685, the parish of Bethel, which took its name in 1759 for the Hebrew term meaning “House of God,” incorporated in 1855. Bethel, as part of Danbury, had boasted hat-making factories as early as the late-1700s. The trade remained vital to the town’s economy well into the early 1900s. Today, such firms as Duracell, Inc., and Eaton Corporation, a power management company, call Bethel home. The town is also known as the birthplace of celebrated showman and entrepreneur Phineas Taylor Barnum.