The Duck Turkey Trot 5K: Tradition, Fun, Community

The Duck Turkey Trot 5K is coming up on Thanksgiving Day, November 26, and Carolina Designs Realty is proud to be a presenting sponsor of this year’s race. Registration opened on September 1 and is expected to sell out. There will be no registration the day before or on race day, so be sure to register as soon as possible to guarantee your spot!

November 26 is Thanksgiving Day, but it’s a morning race—so there will be plenty of time left over for family, friends, and feasting afterward. Some lucky participants will even leave the event with a locally baked pie to bring to their Thanksgiving table.

The race continues a wonderful tradition that began in 1996 when Nancy Caviness, owner of the Duck bed and breakfast Advice 5 Cents, began hosting the Advice 5K Turkey Trot with a course that ran through the streets of the coastal town on Thanksgiving Day for 25 years.

To the delight of the local community and visitors alike, the Outer Banks Track Club (OBTC) revived the annual race in 2025. The event has a lot going for it: it’s a great way to explore the village of Duck, participants will get to experience running alongside some of the area’s top cross-country and track & field athletes, and the race doesn’t start until 9:00 a.m., so no one has to get up at the crack of dawn to enjoy five kilometers.

Mostly, though, the Duck Turkey Trot 5K is just plain fun.

Race packet pickup begins Wednesday in the late afternoon, November 25, at Swells’a Brewing’s Duck Dive Bar. There’s always some great swag in the packets, including a commemorative long-sleeve event T-shirt, and live music starts at 4:00 p.m.

Race day begins Thanksgiving morning at the Tree House Cafe in Duck around 8:00 a.m. There will be goodies available to fuel the race, and each packet includes a hot drink ticket that can be traded for coffee or hot chocolate.

As everyone gets ready to run (or walk, because the day is all about participation, not necessarily being first across the finish line!), the costume contest will get underway.

The costume contest has three categories: Best Thanksgiving, Most Ducky, and Best Group Costume. The contest rules are simple: please keep costumes appropriate and safe, and you must have a race bib to enter.

The race begins around 9:00 a.m. The Duck Turkey Trot is intentionally not chip-timed, keeping the focus on community, family, and participation. Official times are recorded only for the overall male and female winners to recognize the course records, while everyone else earns the satisfaction—and bragging rights—of being part of one of the Outer Banks’ favorite Thanksgiving traditions. The first male and female runners to cross the finish line will be presented with delicious pies from local baker Sweater Box Confections.

Beyond the fun and community atmosphere, the Duck Turkey Trot 5K has become an important fundraiser for youth athletics in Dare County. The race organizer, Outer Banks Track Club (OBTC), has a simple, important mission: to support Dare County middle and high school cross country and track & field.

The OBTC is an all-volunteer nonprofit whose members love the sport and work with young athletes to help them achieve long-term success. Although the club has operated for only a few years, Board President Gray Berryman said, “In a short time we are making a big difference and setting up the running community for long-term success.”

The local schools, Berryman explained, have “a long tradition of excellent runners, and we are consistently legitimate competitors with multiple individual state championship trophies. We are gunning for team state championships this year, and our chances are good.”

The funds the OBTC raises go right back to supporting the young athletes they work with. For some student-athletes, purchasing quality equipment can be a hurdle. Travel costs for camps and competitions can also be challenging, and the OBTC helps bridge those gaps. The club also assists with facility improvements and equipment that enhance local cross country and track & field opportunities for Dare County students. The first college scholarship funded through proceeds from the revived Duck Turkey Trot will be awarded during the 2027–2028 school year, marking another important milestone in the event’s impact on local youth athletics.

The Duck Turkey Trot 5K is part of an Outer Banks tradition going back more than two decades. It has always been a race that’s fun to run and great for the community, but now it also provides an opportunity to invest in the next generation of local student-athletes.

Whether you’re racing for a personal best, walking with family, dressing up for the costume contest, or simply supporting local student-athletes, the Duck Turkey Trot is a Thanksgiving tradition worth being part of.

See you on race day!