The course runs along Palm Canyon Drive in the heart of downtown Palm Springs, flat and certified fast. Starting and finishing in the same central stretch means spectators can plant themselves once and see plenty of action. Thanksgiving morning in the desert tends to be genuinely good running weather, cool and clear before the day heats up. A portion of proceeds goes toward a local meals program for homebound seniors.
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Going by the 2025 results, this is a big field, and the spread of finish times is wide, so this is a mostly recreational race rather than one for club runners.
Top 3: Ivan Dorantes (16:39) · Phil Padilla (16:49) · Ashton Paul (17:19)
The Palm Springs WILD TURKEY TROT 5K has been held every year since at least 2023. That is as far back as RunSignup's records for this race go, so it may well be older.
Enter a finish time to see where it lands against the most recent 5K results.
How we calculate these stats: RunSesh calculates these figures from the most recent published results of past editions, sourced from RunSignup. We show aggregates only: field size, winning and median times, and the cutoff. We never publish individual finisher tables. Last updated Oct 25, 2026.
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Almost certainly not. Half the 5K field finished slower than 39:28, and the last recorded finisher came in around 1:36:31, so there is a long tail of runners behind the middle of the pack. Most fields are far slower than people expect.
With 2,447 finishers there are runners at every pace, so you are never out on your own. There is no qualifying time, and the finish-time spread above shows how varied the field really is. If it is your first 5K, that spread matters more than the winner's time.
The 5K winner ran 16:39 while the median finisher took 39:28. That spread points to a broad, mostly recreational field rather than a race dominated by club runners.
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