My marathons

Western & Southern Thanksgiving Day Race

The organiser has not published a date. Cincinnati
TQL Stadium
TQL Stadium. Photograph by Cornfield948, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

The course

The organiser's 10K starts and finishes at TQL Stadium and crosses the river into Kentucky, in what it calls one of the longest continuously held road races in the United States.

The course in short 2 lines
  • Across the river into KentuckyThe 117th running in 2026, with river views on the way.
  • Packets on Tuesday and Wednesday, or race morningPackets Tue and Wed 10:00 to 18:30, or race morning 07:00 to 08:30.
Course notes 2 short reads on the course
Whole courseLandmarkAcross the river into KentuckyThe 117th running in 2026, with river views on the way.

Every Thanksgiving morning the race winds through the centre of Cincinnati and across the Ohio River into Kentucky, and the organiser describes a festive course with sweeping river views. The 2026 race, on Thursday 26 November, is the 117th running. Strollers are allowed, with a request to start toward the back of the line, and the 10K starts and finishes at TQL Stadium.

Sourced

Whole courseConditionsPackets on Tuesday and Wednesday, or race morningPackets Tue and Wed 10:00 to 18:30, or race morning 07:00 to 08:30.

Packets for the 10K and the 5K are collected in the First Financial Club at TQL Stadium, where runners can also register onsite and visit the Fleet Feet Expo. Parking at pick-up is free in the TQL Stadium East Garage, a two-minute walk away. On race day the downtown and Over-the-Rhine garages offer flat-rate parking, $5 at most locations and $6 at Town Center Garage, and the prepaid $5 rate at select garages needs an arrival by 8:30 am.

Sourced

Race fuel

Energy gel
An energy gel sachet
Illustration · drag to turn

No gel needed at this pace

Finish

Under about 75 minutes most runners need no gel: water at the aid stations does it.

For your long training runs:

Our pick: SiS BETA Fuel gel, box of 6, strawberry and lime. 40 g of carbohydrate a gel, about twice a usual gel, from two kinds of sugar your body takes up side by side.

Get it on Amazon

We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.

In Canada the button opens GU Energy Gel, Salted Caramel, 24-pack, the best seller there.

Outside the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Austria and Switzerland, the UK and Ireland, Spain and Portugal, Italy, the rest of the EU and Canada the button opens GU Energy Gel, Chocolate Outrage, 24-pack on Amazon.com, the best seller there.

Anti-chafe
Compeed Anti-blister stick
Photo: Compeed

Compeed

Compeed anti-blister stick, 8 ml

Best selling on Amazon amazon.nl, read 2 Nov

An invisible layer before the start keeps seams, straps and shoes from rubbing skin raw.

Put it on before you leave for the start: heels and toes, inner thighs, under a bra or heart-rate strap.

Try it on a long run first, like everything you use on race day.

Get it on Amazon

We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.

Number belt
A race number belt
Illustration · drag to turn

Compressport Race Belt

Holds your bib without safety pins through your top, with loops for up to 8 gels.

Clip the bib on the night before, so it goes on with your shorts in the morning.

Keep the number on the front, where officials and photographers can see it.

Get it on Amazon

We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.

Electrolytes
A tube of electrolyte tablets
Illustration · drag to turn

SiS Hydro electrolyte tablets, tube of 20

One tablet in a bottle puts back some of the salt you sweat out.

One tablet in 500 ml of water in the hour before the start.

Only if you have used them in training: nothing new on race day.

Get it on Amazon

We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.

Blister plasters
Compeed Blister plasters, medium, 6
Photo: Compeed

Compeed

Compeed blister plasters, medium, 6

Best selling on Amazon amazon.nl, read 2 Nov

One in a pocket cushions a blister if one starts.

Put it on clean, dry skin and leave it until it comes off by itself.

Give a couple to whoever comes to cheer, so they are there at the km you need them.

Get it on Amazon

We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.
distance
10.0 km6.2 mi

Race week

Bib pickup at TQL Stadium, First Financial Club

Timetable

Tuesday 24 November Bib pickup

  1. 10:0010:00 AM

    Packet pick-up TQL Stadium, First Financial Club. Open 10:00 to 18:30. Packets for the 10K and the 5K, onsite registration and the Fleet Feet Expo.

Wednesday 25 November Last bib day

  1. 10:0010:00 AM

    Packet pick-up TQL Stadium, First Financial Club. Open 10:00 to 18:30. Packets for the 10K and the 5K, onsite registration and the Fleet Feet Expo.

Thursday 26 November Race day

  1. 07:007:00 AM

    Packet pick-up TQL Stadium, First Financial Club. Open 07:00 to 08:30 on race morning.

  2. 09:009:00 AM

    Western & Southern 10K start TQL Stadium. The 10K starts and finishes at TQL Stadium.

Times as published by the organiser, in Cincinnati time, checked .

Add to calendar .ics file, times in Cincinnati time

Trip

Getting a place

Entry through the organiser

Entry details on the organiser’s site →

The organiser, a third party. We take no entries and have no part in the race.

Keep exploring

More races to look at after the Western & Southern Thanksgiving Day Race.

Marathons people fly to

Races in North America
  • A frame from our Honolulu Marathon filmImagery: Google Earth4:00

    Honolulu Marathon

    Honolulu, United States

    Sun 13 Dec42.2 km88 m

    Climb summed after smoothing the heights over 1 km. The edge is this course's height profile on one scale for every race: 250 m above its lowest point fills it.
  • A frame from our Boston Marathon filmImagery: Google Earth3:12

    Boston Marathon

    Boston, United States

    Mon 19 Apr 202742.2 km105 m

    Climb summed after smoothing the heights over 1 km. The edge is this course's height profile on one scale for every race: 250 m above its lowest point fills it.
  • A frame from our Marine Corps Marathon filmImagery: Google Earth4:00

    Marine Corps Marathon

    Washington, D.C., United States

    Oct 202742.2 km112 m

    Climb summed after smoothing the heights over 1 km. The edge is this course's height profile on one scale for every race: 250 m above its lowest point fills it.
  • A frame from our Chicago Marathon filmImagery: Google Earth3:59Ballot open

    Chicago Marathon

    Chicago, United States

    Sun 10 Oct 202742.2 km20 m

    Climb summed after smoothing the heights over 1 km. The edge is this course's height profile on one scale for every race: 250 m above its lowest point fills it.

Courses on film

All races on film
  • A frame from our Athens Marathon filmImagery: Google Earth3:56Race week

    Athens Marathon

    Athens, Greece

    Sun 8 Nov42.2 km281 m

    Climb summed after smoothing the heights over 1 km. The edge is this course's height profile on one scale for every race: 250 m above its lowest point fills it.
  • A frame from our Malaga Marathon filmImagery: Google Earth3:50Race week

    Malaga Marathon

    Malaga, Spain

    Sun 8 Nov42.2 km63 m

    Climb summed after smoothing the heights over 1 km. The edge is this course's height profile on one scale for every race: 250 m above its lowest point fills it.
  • A frame from our Porto Marathon filmImagery: Google Earth3:53Race week

    Porto Marathon

    Porto, Portugal

    Sun 8 Nov42.2 km133 m

    Climb summed after smoothing the heights over 1 km. The edge is this course's height profile on one scale for every race: 250 m above its lowest point fills it.
  • A frame from our Curitiba Marathon filmImagery: Google Earth3:51Entry open

    Curitiba Marathon

    Curitiba, Brazil

    Sun 15 Nov42.2 km128 m

    Climb summed after smoothing the heights over 1 km. The edge is this course's height profile on one scale for every race: 250 m above its lowest point fills it.
More races in the United States