Overview The Irving Turkey Trot is a Thanksgiving morning 5K and 8-mile in Las Colinas, where runners turn up in turkey hats and pilgrim costumes and teams race for a best-dressed trophy as well as the fastest time. The 8-mile goes at 9 and the 5K at 9:15, both from The Plaza at Toyota Music Factory. It is one of six races in the Irving Marathon Running Series, and proceeds go to the Irving Schools Foundation for scholarships to Irving ISD students who volunteer on the course. On site The 5K runs a fast, flat line up Las Colinas Boulevard and back. The 8-mile winds around Lake Carolyn and the Las Colinas Urban Center, past the waterfront and the public art. More than 60 off-duty police officers close the streets, and runners are tracked live on the RaceJoy app. Every entrant gets a gender-specific shirt, a custom finisher medal, free professional photos and bag check, and the post-race party at the Toyota Music Factory runs live music with food and drink coupons. Audience Age groups run from 9 and under to 80 and over, three places deep in each. Both distances stay open for two and a half hours, so walkers finish, and walkers and runners with dogs start together in the final wave. Track record The series grew out of the Irving Marathon, which Lazaro Alvarez and Ronnie Chesko founded in 2012; Alvarez turned it into a year-round calendar in 2019. Every race in the series funds a $1,000 scholarship for an Irving ISD student volunteer. Brand presence Sponsors work the same kit as the rest of the series: an expo booth at packet pickup the day before, a water station, the medal ribbon, packet inserts and PA announcements, and at the top levels race entries and a logo on the shirts and race bags. On the day, the bib, the course signs, the PR bell, the team challenge and the post-race food each carry a sponsor position.