The Western & Southern Thanksgiving Day Race: A Holiday Running Tradition for Family and Friends

By Julie Isphording

Laura Hoguet Leonard started running the Western & Southern Thanksgiving Day Race in high school when her father inspired her to run with him. It became their annual Thanksgiving Day tradition — just the two of them — running together for many years.

“My Dad loved the Thanksgiving Day Race, and I fell in love with it, too,” Leonard said. “He made running fun and became my best cheerleader. He’d scope out our parking, help me get stretched out and run with me for the entire 10k,” Leonard told me.  

Through the years, other family members would walk the race, but no one in the family could keep up with Leonard and her dad, David Hoguet. “It was always a great time for all of us to be together doing something we love.” 

Today — 20 years later — Laura Leonard is still running the Western & Southern Thanksgiving Day Race. Only this time, she will be running with two of her three children, 5-year-old Jack and 3-year-old Libby in the ProAmpac Kids Fun Run, and then she will run the Chick-fil-A 5k on her own while her dad, mom, husband, in-laws and children cheer for her!

“I’m hoping to start building healthy and fun holiday traditions with our young family,” she said. “This race supports so many important aspects of life — quality family time, grit, self-confidence, healthy competition, sportsmanship and so much more.” 

This is the story of the 115th Western & Southern Thanksgiving Day Race, one of the oldest and largest 10ks in the country. It’s all about generations of families running, walking and celebrating the holiday together in the streets of Cincinnati. It’s packed with people from every walk of life and is still one of the city’s most remarkable events.

The race has changed throughout the years. Most recently, the race moved its start and finish to TQL Stadium, and added both a Chick-fil-A 5k and a big post-race Pella® party full of food, fun, and music inside TQL Stadium. 

“We are proud that TQL Stadium will serve as race headquarters for this annual Cincinnati tradition,” said Jeff Berding, co-CEO, FC Cincinnati, who is running the race with his family. “Cincinnati can show off our award-winning stadium to thousands of runners and walkers from across the region.” 

The 10k and 5k courses run through historic neighborhoods like the West End, Over-the-Rhine, Pendleton and along the Ohio River. 

“It is the best place to be on Thanksgiving Day morning in Cincinnati,” said John Barrett, CEO of Western & Southern, the title sponsor of the event. “It is one of those special days where you’ll remember the journey with your friends and family more than your finishing time.”

Brief History of the Race: We are Older, But Better, But Older!

Started in 1908, Greater Cincinnati’s turkey day run is the sixth oldest race in America, behind only the Boston Marathon and a handful of other century-old events, according to Runner’s World Magazine.

The event’s origins — and the choice of Thanksgiving Day — are a bit hazy even to long-time race organizers. Some say the race was started by the downtown YMCA under the provisions of its charter. Others suggest that a few local runners simply decided to organize a race one year, chose a holiday when most people would be off work and never imagined that it still would be going strong in the 21st century.

Eighteen of the 21 runners entered in the 1908 Cincinnati race finished the seven-mile course, with Lovell Draper of Cincinnati completing the distance in 37 minutes and 15 seconds, about three minutes ahead of his nearest competitor.

More than 114 years after those runners raced from the Fort Thomas Gym to the YMCA in downtown Cincinnati, the Western & Southern Thanksgiving Day Race — still the oldest road race of any kind in the Midwest — has become an integral part of the holiday season for the thousands who run it annually with their family and friends.  

From its modest beginning, the race has grown steadily over the years, peaking at 17,567 at the 100th anniversary run in 2009.

Another huge milestone is that the race has transitioned from 90% male runners to almost a 50/50 split. In 2018, women participants outnumbered the men by a modest 15 runners, a trend that has since continued and something that Secret® recognized with gifts to all the female runners that year — a tradition that continues today and encourages women everywhere to challenge themselves and inspire each other.

“Each year, this is a wonderful cultural cornerstone during Cincinnati’s holiday season and a beautiful family tradition,” said Mayor Aftab Pureval who is also running the 10k race and hoping to set a new personal best. “I can’t wait to see residents of all ages come together and make this year’s race the best yet.”

Running for Charity

The event benefits so many local charities. “It is an honor to be part of such an important Cincinnati tradition that brings people together to help support those in need across our community,” said John Barrett, chairman, president and chief executive officer of title sponsor Western & Southern.

“I can’t think of anywhere I would rather be than celebrating Thanksgiving Day morning with 12,000 happy, healthy people,” said Dr. Bill Barrett, co-medical director of the Barrett Cancer Center at UC and founder of Cincinnati Cancer Advisors, two of the major charities that will benefit from the run along with the Alzheimer’s Association, Girls on the Run, Ken Anderson Alliance, Urban YoungLife, CancerFree Kids, Big Brothers Big Sisters, FC Foundation and others. 

“What gives the race its unusually rich heritage is the emotional hold it has on those who run in it, luring so many people back year after year,” said Jim Frey, principal of Pella Windows and Doors of Greater Cincinnati, a passionate sponsor of the race along with Secret, ProAmpac, Chick-fil-A, Kingsview Partners, Fleet Feet, Roehr Insurance, Wealth Planning Inc., and CTI — all of which join Western & Southern to make the race possible for thousands of families, friends and neighbors to enjoy on the most thankful day of the year.

Interested in running in 2025? The website http://www.thanksgivingdayrace.com has online registration, plenty of training advice and healthy tips to get you to the starting line for a worthy cause.