2013 Dallas Turkey Trot: Danny Fulgencio

2013 Dallas Turkey Trot: Danny Fulgencio

Fifty years ago, getting one street closed for the Thanksgiving Day race was a big deal. Now, you can forget about driving anywhere in Downtown or North Oak Cliff before early afternoon (unless you know exactly which roads to avoid). 

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In 1975, for the first time ever, organizers of the YMCA Dallas Turkey Trot managed to get one street near White Rock Lake, Lawther, closed to traffic for two and a half hours as about 550 runners took the streets.

“The Park Department has consented to stop traffic,” wrote Denis Adams in a letter to potential participants that year (provided to The Advocate by Dallas archivist John Slate). “This will allow you to do your thing without vehicular assault. If you get run over this year, it will be by the guy or gal behind you.”

This Thursday’s 54th YMCA Turkey Trot begins and ends at City Hall should attract some 40,000 participants, and traffic blocks will affect more than 15 streets, including Colorado, Beckley and the Jefferson Street Viaduct beginning a little after 8:30 a.m. and lasting a couple of hours.

The main streets surrounding the City Hall start and finish of the race — Young between Akard and Browder and between St. Paul Street and Park Ave — are closed from 7 p.m. Wednesday through 5 p.m. Thanksgiving. Young Street between Griffin Street and Harwood Street are fully closed from 4 a.m.-1 p.m. Thanksgiving Day.

Downtown, the 8-mile race begins at 8:30 a.m. and travels east on Young, east on Canton, left on Hall, left on Main, left on Houston , right on Reunion, left on Hotel, right on Reunion E (against eastbound traffic) left on Sports Street (against northbound traffic), left on North Drive, left on Hotel, right on Reunion E, right on Houston and into Oak Cliff territory, where we can either sit around and complain about the traffic and noise or join in and cheer ’em on.

From Houston runners hit Marsalis, turn right on Colorado, left on Blaylock, right on E. 5th Street, right on Beckley Avenue, right on Zang Boulevard to the Jefferson St. Viaduct, onto Market Street. (Note: A few hundred runners take the 8-mile course that winds though Oak Cliff, while the glut of the 40k registrants are sticking to the 5k that is contained Downtown.)

From there they make a right on Young, right on Marilla and return to City Hall Plaza.

Streets along the route will close approximately 15 minutes before the first runner and will reopen as the last runner passes through.