For most of its history, the Laveen Turkey Trot ran at Cesar Chavez Park. The 2024 race page promised "flat looping course routes" past the park's lake and its island, with the Sierra Estrella on the horizon. In 2018 the race started and finished on the Cesar Chavez High School stadium track. The 2024 race sold out.
In 2025 the Laveen Community Council moved the race to 7780 S. 59th Ave., which is the Laveen Area Conveyance Channel. You get there through the Laveen Park Place shopping center off Baseline Road. This year's race, which the Council calls its 20th Annual Laveen Turkey Trot, is the second one held there. It runs Thursday, Nov. 26.
At the new site, packet pickup, parking and staging are now built around one retail corner, and the race doesn't hand out anything on race morning. If you're running, the last thing you can do happens on Tuesday or Wednesday.
A race at a shopping center runs on a schedule
The Council's race page sets three rules for this year.
- No onsite registration on race day. The Council's page says it plainly.
- No packet pickup on race day. Bibs come from pre-race pickup or by mail.
- Race parking is allowed only in the designated areas in front of Michael's and TJ Maxx. Overflow parking is in the shopping center across 59th Avenue to the east.
Together, those rules leave runners with two pickup evenings and a single parking zone.
The mail option closed on Nov. 15, along with the last published price window. The Council's schedule listed the 1-mile at $20, the 5K at $42 and the 10K at $52 for Sept. 28 through Sunday, Nov. 15. Packet mailing cost $15 and was only available to people who registered before Nov. 15. If you aren't signed up yet, the Council's race registration page is the only way in, since nobody can register on race morning.
Tuesday or Wednesday at Robeks
For anyone who didn't pay for mailing, this is the step that makes or breaks race day.
| Pickup day | Hours | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Tuesday, Nov. 24 | 3 to 7 p.m. | Robeks, 7625 S. 59th Ave. |
| Wednesday, Nov. 25 | 3 to 7 p.m. | Robeks, 7625 S. 59th Ave. |
Robeks is on the same stretch of 59th Avenue as the race site, so the trip on Tuesday or Wednesday is a good chance to learn the area before race morning.
Your packet includes the race shirt for 5K and 10K entries. The 1-mile fun run doesn't come with a shirt, and runners who want one buy it separately. Every finisher at all three distances gets a medal at the finish line.
The 5K is where the crowd is, and this year it starts in waves
The 2025 10K results list 39 finishers. The 5K results run to at least 205th place overall. For 2026, the Council says corrals "will be utilized for the 5K race this year."
The race-morning timeline, per the Council:
- 6:30 a.m. Event hours begin
- 7:30 a.m. 10K lineup
- 7:35 a.m. 10K start
- 7:40 a.m. 5K lineup
- 7:45 a.m. 5K Corral 1 start
- 7:48 a.m. 5K Corral 2 start
- 7:51 a.m. 5K Corral 3 start
- 7:54 a.m. 5K Corral 4 start, if needed
- 7:57 a.m. 5K Corral 5 start, if needed
- 8:00 a.m. 1-mile lineup
- 8:05 a.m. 1-mile start
- 10:30 a.m. Event hours end
The time limits leave room for walkers. The 5K and 10K each allow 2 hours and 30 minutes from the start, and the untimed mile allows one hour. The 5K and 10K are chip-timed, and top finishers get awards.
Families have a few options in the rules. Leashed pets are welcome and costumes are encouraged. Children who aren't school age yet can go on the course with their families without registering, though they won't get a bib, shirt or medal. The Council posts route maps for all three distances on its Turkey Trot page, along with directions. From Loop 202, exit at Baseline Road, head east to 59th Avenue, turn south, then turn right into Laveen Park Place.
The path the race borrows for one morning
The new site also brings more Laveen residents onto a route they can use every other day of the year. A City of Phoenix transportation study says the Laveen Area Conveyance Channel corridor averages about 200 feet wide and was designed with desert landscaping, trails and multi-use recreational amenities. The city maintains a paved multi-use path in the LACC linear park, and the study defines that kind of path as a route for pedestrians, bicyclists and equestrians.
The channel runs about 5.85 miles, from 43rd Avenue south of Southern Avenue to the Salt River near the 81st Avenue alignment. The corridor is long and linear, with room for a 10K course, and the race enters it from the Laveen Park Place shopping center.
Who keeps the trot running
The Turkey Trot is a Laveen Community Council fundraiser. The Council says its fundraising generally supports youth programs, scholarships for high school graduates and other community organizations. This year's community supporters listed on the race page are Massage Envy, Crosswalk Church, Scooptacular and Sun Valley Academy-South Mountain.
If you'd like to help without running, the Council posts a volunteer sign-up on the race page. The page also says it will post 2026 results on Thanksgiving morning.
What comes after Thanksgiving
The trot opens a stretch of community events in Laveen that runs into early spring.
- Friday, Dec. 4, 5 to 8 p.m. The Laveen School District's 13th Annual Winter Festival at the David Glasser Athletic Complex, 5001 W. Dobbins Road. Admission is free, some activities are ticketed, and proceeds benefit the Laveen Education Foundation.
- Saturday, Feb. 6, 2027, noon to 3 p.m. The Laveen Community Parade.
- Saturday, Feb. 20, 2027, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The 75th Annual Laveen BBQ at 7858 S. 35th Ave.
- Saturday, March 20, 2027, 8:30 to 11 a.m. The Council's Easter Egg Hunt at 5001 W. Dobbins Road.
For the trot, mark Tuesday, Nov. 24 or Wednesday, Nov. 25 at Robeks between 3 and 7 p.m., and plan to park in front of Michael's or TJ Maxx before the 7:30 a.m. 10K lineup on Thanksgiving.
If you're getting to know Laveen one community tradition at a time, I'd be glad to share more about the neighborhood around 59th Avenue and Baseline and how it fits into everyday life here. Reach out through Lisa Gatchalian whenever you're ready. Let's Connect.
