Coronado Turkey Trot: A Bayfront 5K for Rady Children's — and the Price Jumps September 27

Overview

Of the three Thanksgiving morning races in San Diego County, this is the one with the view — an out-and-back along the bay path under the Coronado Bridge, with the downtown skyline across the water the whole way.

It's also the one with the hardest logistics, because it's on Coronado on a holiday. The organizers know it, and their parking advice is unusually blunt about it.

Two things to get right before you read further: there is no 10K — the only timed distance is a 5K — and dogs are not allowed, which sets this apart from the other turkey trots.

What You Need to Know

When: Thursday, November 26, 2026 — Thanksgiving Day. 5K starts at 8:00 a.m.

Where: Tidelands Park, 2000 Mullinex Dr., Coronado, CA 92118 — start and finish

Cost: $63.54 through September 27, then $68.84. Ages 5–15 $31.74. Tiny Trotters free

Dogs: Not permitted. Neither are bikes

Strollers: Allowed, with a designated start section

Benefiting: Type 1 diabetes care at Rady Children's Hospital

Info: rchacoronadoturkeytrot.com

The Schedule

• 6:30 a.m. — Packet pickup opens
• 7:35 a.m. — Pre-race warm-up
• 8:00 a.m. — 5K start
• 9:15 a.m. — Awards ceremony, overall winners
• 9:30 a.m. — Event concludes

That 9:30 finish is worth noting: this is a genuinely short morning. You can run it and still be home before the oven goes on.

The Tiny Trotters fun run for ages 5 and under is listed at 8:00 a.m. as well, though the official race-day schedule doesn't give it a separate line.

There's a pace-based wave start with a designated stroller section, but no per-wave clock times are published.

Registration and the September 27 Deadline

This is the most time-sensitive thing on the page:

• 5K — $63.54 (including a $4.54 fee), rising to $68.84 after September 27 at 11:59 p.m.
• 5K, ages 5–15 — $31.74. The age discount applies automatically once you enter a birth date
• Virtual 5K — $63.54, or $42.34 for ages 5–15. Registration closes November 22
• Tiny Trotters, ages 5 and under — free. Registration closes race morning at 8:00 a.m. No shirt or medal

Entry fees are non-refundable, no exceptions. Transferring your entry to another person costs $15.

Walk-up registration is available at packet pickup if the event hasn't sold out — and the organizers say it sells out every year.

The Course

From the organizers: the 5K begins at Tidelands Park, follows the Bayshore Bikeway along San Diego Bay, passes under the Coronado Bridge, and turns around at Glorietta Boulevard. Runners then continue to a second turnaround at Centennial Park before heading back to finish at Tidelands.

A water station sits around mile 1.5 near the Ferry Landing.

This is a bike path, not a street course — which is why road closures are minimal, and also why the course etiquette matters. The organizers ask everyone to stay left for bike traffic, and walkers to stay a maximum of two abreast.

Getting Onto Coronado on Thanksgiving Morning

The organizers are refreshingly direct here, and it's the most useful part of their site:

"Due to Thanksgiving tourist congestion on Coronado, race organizers cannot guarantee parking will be readily available or easy near the start line."

Their actual recommendation is to not park on the island at all. Park on the mainland side in Barrio Logan — they point to free street parking near Chicano Park and Perkins Elementary at 1770 Main Street — and take a rideshare across the bridge.

If you do drive over:

• Tidelands Park parking is first come, first served, and full before 7:00 a.m. Arrive before 6:45
• There's free street parking near the park, but plan to walk as much as a mile
• The Marriott and Ferry Landing offer paid parking, roughly $10–$30
• Do not park at Smart & Final or the Broadstone apartment complex. You will be towed

Road closures: the organizers say only that roads in the area may close near race time. No specific streets or windows are published.

What You Get

A commemorative race shirt, a finisher's medal, and post-race refreshments. Virtual participants get the shirt and medal mailed.

Worth calibrating expectations: the official language is "post-race refreshments," not a festival, and the whole thing wraps at 9:30. Tiny Trotters don't receive a shirt or medal.

Packet pickup before race day is listed as TBD — the organizers say to plan on attending one of the pre-race pickups and discourage race-morning pickup for anyone local. Photo ID is required, and you can collect for a friend with a copy of theirs.

Who It Benefits

The race is run by the Coronado Unit of the Rady Children's Hospital Auxiliary, which has been around since 2004. In their words: all net proceeds benefit the Division of Endocrinology/Diabetes at Rady Children's Hospital, supporting children and families affected by Type 1 diabetes.

Good to Know

Register this week if you're going. The price goes up September 27, and the race sells out.

No dogs. Bikes and pets are both prohibited on the course. If you want to bring the dog, the Father Joe's Villages Thanksgiving 5K in Balboa Park explicitly welcomes them.

Scooters are allowed only for children under 6.

Three races, one morning. This one, Father Joe's in Balboa Park, and the O'side Turkey Trot up in Oceanside all run Thanksgiving morning. Pick by geography — you're not making two.

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Coronado has a busy fall generally: the Coronado Island Film Festival takes over six walkable venues in early November, and A Taste of Coronado is the food version of the same walkable-island idea.