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About The Course

Flat, Scenic, and the ideal location for a Thanksgiving run.

The Life Time Chicago Turkey Trot 5K & 8K will step off from Fullerton Pkwy and Cannon Dr at 9:00 A.M. in a wave start (Wave details located in the Schedule) Participants will run east on Fullerton Pkwy toward the Lakefront Trail.

After passing under Lake Shore Drive participants will run north along the Lakefront Trail to Recreation Dr. 5K participants will turnaround just south of Addison and Recreation Dr. 8K participants will continue north on the Lakefront Trail and turnaround just south of Montrose Ave.

Southbound runners will use Recreation Drive until merging back onto the Lakefront Trail just south of Addison. Participants will continue to follow the Lakefront Trail south until traversing under Lake Shore Dr at the Barry Bridge. Once through the bridge, they will follow the cinder path into the Finish Line located just south of the Diversey Driving Range parking lot.

Thanks to the ongoing support of our participants and sponsors, we’ve got something for everyone to join in on! And, as always, our commitment to maintaining a first-class event all-around is our highest priority.

Our course starts next to Southpark Mall and finishes in the SouthPark Mall in front of Dicks and beside the Symphony park. Participants will enjoy a safe and scenic run through South Charlotte. For a detailed course map, please visit our website. Water stops will be positioned on the course. Portable restrooms will be stationed at the Start/Finish line area and at the midway point of the 8K.

On Thanksgiving morning, 2004, Carl and Leslee Guardino heard a radio report announcing “20,000 people downtown running and walking to benefit the needy” in Sacramento. Carl turned to Leslee and said, “Somebody ought to do a race like that here.” Leslee gave Carl that look that said, “Maybe that somebody should be us.”

Reaching out to Bob Brownstein at Working Partnerships, a think-tank arm of the Central Labor Council, a partnership was formed. Several months later, a major milestone occurred when Joe Pon of Applied Materials successfully championed to the company the idea of Applied serving as the Multi-Year Title Sponsor. With a title sponsor, and then several branded co-sponsors, the Applied Materials “Silicon Valley Turkey Trot “was born.

Three great local charities serving local residents – Healthier Kids Foundation Santa Clara County, Housing Trust Silicon Valley and Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties –were initially selected as multi-year beneficiaries, and a volunteer Executive Steering Committee started planning the first race, set for Thanksgiving Day, 2005.

• Year One Goals: 1,000 participants, supported by 200 volunteers, with a stretch goal to raise $100,000 for charity.
• Year One Results: 1,900 participants supported by 250 volunteers, clearing $132,000 for the three charities.

The event blossomed beyond everyone’s wildest imagination.

• Year Seven Results: 22,124 participants, supported by 1,000 volunteers, clearing $612,000 for charity.
• Year Eight Results: 24,223 participants, supported by 2,000 volunteers, clearing $700,000 (from the race) plus an additional $500,000 from a one time, anonymous donor totaling $1.2 million for charity.
• Year Nine Results: 24,565 participants, supported by 1,800 volunteers. clearing $850,000 for charity.
• Year Ten Results: 26,405 registrants, supported by 2,000 volunteers, clearing $936,000 for charity.
• Year Eleven Results: 24,901 registrants, supported by 2,000 volunteers, clearing $936,000 for charity.
• Year Twelve Results: 24,388 registrants, supported by 2,000 volunteers, clearing $912,000 for charity.
• Total donated: More than $6.9 million.

In this modern world of professional runners, televised marathons, and hundred-dollar racing shoes, Berwick, Pennsylvania’s Run for the Diamonds has the authenticity of an old boxing gym. A nine-mile race with a grueling two-mile uphill, contested on Thanksgiving since 1908, this is a throwback event that reflects the history of running in America.

Some of the world’s greatest runners have competed at Berwick. Boston legend Johnny Kelley said, “Except for the Boston and Olympic marathons, there is no race that I would rather win than Berwick.”

The first race was contested between the locals over unpaved roads and followed by a “referee” on horseback. The frontrunner in 1909 was a diminutive Hopi named Louis Tewanima, who became the race’s first star. (Although he was captured by the US Cavalry in 1906 and forced to attend Carlisle Indian School, Tewanima went on to win an Olympic silver medal for the United States.)

Berwick also attracted some of Finland’s greatest runners—Hannes Kolehmainen (the first “Flying Finn”) and Ville Ritola (the “Flying Wolf”), both of whom went on to win Olympic gold medals.