Technology for Turkey Trots…
RunSignup makes turkey trot registration easy, sure. But we’re also here with free technology to help you manage your event and race operations from conception to execution. All events on RunSignup include:
Key Features for Turkey Trots
Free Marketing Tools
Get the word out with free, built-in tools to market your turkey trot.
- Stand out from the turkey trot crowd with a free and custom race website with your branding (not ours)
- Connect with your community and bring back participants with free and unlimited email marketing
- Turn your loyal participants into ambassadors and incentive sharing with an automated referral rewards program
- Understand your results and optimize your spend with the RaceInsights Analytics dashboard


Social Activation
What really makes turkey trots special is their ability to bring together families and communities.
- Encourage participants to invite their friends and extended family with incentivized group/team sign ups
- Make your turkey trot a family affair with age-based pricing for your youngest trotters
- Create an atmosphere that’s inclusive of all runners with a range of distances and clearly marked options for walkers
Merch Management
Increase your revenue and get free marketing by offering premium merch that participants can’t wait to wear.
- Send every runner home with a giveaway like a race shirt. RunSignup’s giveaway tool tracks your inventory in real-time to ensure an accurate count on race morning
- Upsell your event with high quality add-on items during registration
- Make merch sales accessible to spectators and community members via a standalone store


Integrated Donations and Fundraising
Raise more for the cause of your choice with donations and fundraising built into your event.
- Make a soft ask for donations during registration with donation levels customized for your cause
- Give participants one last chance to donate with a simple option to donate via checkbox at checkout
- Upgrade your fundraising efforts with individual and team peer-to-peer fundraising
Participant Insurance
Earn more revenue by offering your participants optional protection.
- Enable the ability for participants to purchase insurance during their registration
- All insurance-related participant management (and refunds) are handled by our insurance partner, Protecht Regshield
- Low-cost option for your participants, at 8.1% of the registration fee (just a $2.99 minimum)
- 20% of all insurance premiums are paid to your race, providing a nice

All That… and a RaceDay Suite for Your Turkey Trot…
Manage the crowds and eliminate lines to get your participants home in plenty of time to prepare their own turkey. RunSignup’s RaceDay Suite of tools is designed to maximize efficiency and minimize stress.
On-Demand:
Turkey Trot Prep Webinar
Get your Turkey Trot checklist ready for race day. This on-demand webinar walks through the key features and tools you need to make your annual event a success.

The Latest Blogs on Turkey Trots…
2022 Is a Big Year for Turkey Trots
The biggest US running day of the year had an impressive showing in 2022, with 756,894 people participating in 730 races across the country and raising more than $1.8 million dollars for charities. That represents record participation on the platform, likely due…
Read MoreThanksgiving Infrastructure Report
Note from Dec. 15 2022 – We have deployed an upgraded layer of software that controls our session management that is adaptive to high demand and removes the problem with the Apache Webserver cache mechanism that caused some slow performance on Thanksgiving…
Read MoreEarly Turkey Trot Numbers are Encouraging
We did a quick check-in on how some of the data is looking this year so far for registration (November 7, 2022). We have been tracking how far races have recovered post pandemic. We also have done an annual wrap-up after turkey trots are done….
Read MoreTurkey Trots 2021: The Fun Stuff
We already provided an update on the 2021 Turkey Trot numbers (and they were impressive!), but everyone knows that the full story of Thanksgiving Day events is about more than just numbers. The History of the Turkey Trot Tradition Runners World put out…
Read MoreTurkey Trots 2021: Technology Makes a Difference
As we wrote last week, Turkey Trot Day 2021 was a record-breaker, with more than 617,000 registrants for the day on our platform. But it’s not just a big day for the runners: it’s a big day for GiveSignup | RunSignup technology, too….
Read MoreTurkey Trots Return in 2021
After a light showing in 2020, Turkey Trots returned with a vengeance in 2021, with 617,915 registrants joining 640 Thanksgiving Day races across the United States. That represents record participation on the platform, due to both the return of the biggest running…
Read MoreYour Last Minute Turkey Trot Checklist
Turkey trots are just a week away, and it’s shaping up to be a big year, with more than 600 Thanksgiving Day races collecting registrations on our platform. We’ve already done a full masterclass on Hosting a Turkey Trot (you can find…
Read MoreWebinar Recap: How to Host an Unforgettable Turkey Trot
Believe it or not, Turkey Trot season is coming up again! Whether you’re re-upping a legacy event or building a new community tradition, there’s no better way to build goodwill than a celebratory, family-oriented run/walk. As you build out your Turkey Trot…
Read MoreWhat’s Happening with Turkey Trots?
Thanksgiving Day is traditionally the largest running day of the year, with more 1.2 million runners registering for events in pre-pandemic years. In 2020, the day took a big hit as large scale events stepped back to virtual-only, family travel was reduced,…
Read MoreThanksgiving 2020: By the Numbers
Like many things in 2020, Thanksgiving Day (historically the busiest running day of the year) looked different in 2020. Nonetheless, we’re thankful for all the race directors, timers, and nonprofits who used our technology this Thanksgiving to keep the holiday running tradition…
Read MoreThanksgiving 2020: Participant Stories
In spite of the significant drop in participation, the tradition of running on Thanksgiving Day continued – as seen on social media across the country. A few highlights: The Wheeler Mission Drumstick Dash made a fun and inspiring video, highlighting runners across their community and…
Read MoreAre You Prepared for Turkey Trot Season?
The weather is cooling off and the days are getting shorter. For the running community, that can only mean one thing…Turkey Trot season is coming. Thanksgiving Day has evolved as the largest single running day in the United States, with well over a million…
Read More