Thanksgiving Morning Runs Down Westheimer Parkway: The Katy Turkey Dash and the Week Around It

At 6:30 a.m. on Thanksgiving, shuttle buses start leaving the Super Target parking lot at 23710 Westheimer Parkway every 8 to 10 minutes. They head for the Monty Ballard YMCA at 22807 Westheimer Parkway, where the Katy YMCAs' 24th Annual Turkey Dash sends its first runners off at 7:30. By 10 a.m. the roads start reopening to traffic, and most of the holiday morning on that part of the parkway is done.

The race lasts about two and a half hours. Most of the planning around it happens over the ten days before. Registration fees go up, packet pickup opens, and the nearby kitchens that cook holiday meals stop taking orders, all before Thanksgiving. For Nottingham Country households, the shape of Thanksgiving morning gets settled around November 20, not on the 26th.

The deadlines that come before the holiday

Counting from today, Thursday, November 12, here is how the next two weeks line up for the race and the meals around it:

1. Monday, Nov. 16, 11:59 p.m. Registration closes for the first-year Ashford Women's Club Turkey Trot, which runs on Nov. 21.
2. Thursday, Nov. 19. Black Bear Diner opens Thanksgiving Day ordering.
3. Friday, Nov. 20, 11:59 p.m. Turkey Dash fees go up after this point.
4. Saturday, Nov. 21, 9 a.m. to noon. First Turkey Dash packet pickup at the Monty Ballard YMCA.
5. Monday, Nov. 23, 2 p.m. Last call for Thanksgiving orders at Local Table.
6. Tuesday, Nov. 24, 4 to 7 p.m. Second packet pickup window at the Y.
7. Wednesday, Nov. 25. Packet pickup from 2 to 6 p.m., last Local Table pickup at 7 p.m., and Turkey Dash online registration closes at 11:59 p.m.
8. Thursday, Nov. 26. Race-morning packet pickup from 6:45 to 8 a.m., then the race.

Only the last line falls on the holiday itself. Everything that decides how the morning goes, including the price of a bib and whether dinner is already ordered, closes earlier.

Four start times, spread across two hours

The Turkey Dash has four events with starts spread out from early to mid-morning. That lets one household cover several of them without waiting around all day.

• 10K timed run at 7:30 a.m.
• 5K timed walk/run at 7:50 a.m.
• 1-mile kids race for ages 3 to 12 at 9:15 a.m.
• 1-mile family walk/run at 9:30 a.m.

There's more than an hour between the 5K start and the kids race. A parent can finish the 5K, cool down and still be at the line when a younger runner starts the mile. Every finisher gets a medal, and the 10K and 5K both award the top three overall male and female finishers.

Registration is currently $60 for the 10K, $50 for the 5K and $25 for each one-mile event, plus service fees. Those are the prices through November 20. After that the fees go up, and online registration stays open until 11:59 p.m. on Thanksgiving Eve. For a family signing up two adults for the 5K and two children for the kids race, the gap between registering this week and registering on the 25th applies to every bib.

Parking, shuttles and the 10 a.m. reopening

The race brings a crowd onto Westheimer Parkway, and the organizers have spread parking across three sites. Early parking is at The Fellowship, 22765 Westheimer Parkway, and in the Villagio Town Center parking garage at 22756 Westheimer Parkway. Once those fill, the Super Target lot at 23710 Westheimer Parkway works as the overflow, with shuttles running from 6:30 to 10:30 a.m. and leaving every 8 to 10 minutes or as buses fill.

The shuttle hours go past the end of the race. The last scheduled bus runs at 10:30, half an hour after the roads begin to reopen. That gives family-mile walkers and anyone who stays for the tailgate a ride back to their cars.

The YMCA asks every participant to finish by 10 a.m. Anyone still on the course after that should move to the sidewalk, because roads start reopening to traffic at that hour. For neighbors who aren't running, that's the number to plan around. A drive to pick up a relative or make a late grocery run along Westheimer Parkway is simpler after 10 than before it.

What the race money pays for

Before and after the race, the Y hosts a Turkey Tailgate with a fully equipped Kids Zone, local vendors and interactive booths. The event also runs a silent auction supported by community partners, which is the giving option for anyone who wants to contribute without running.

According to the YMCA, the money supports swim lessons, access to wellness programs for people who need them most, and its goal that every family, regardless of income, has a place to belong. That makes the entry fee a local donation. The 10K, the tailgate and the silent auction all fund programs at the Y that hosts them.

Other Thanksgiving runs, and when they close

Some households already have a Thanksgiving run they've done for years somewhere else, or relatives hosting across town. Each of the other area races has its own deadlines, and a couple of them arrive sooner than the Turkey Dash's.

The Ashford trot is the one most likely to slip by. It runs the Saturday before Thanksgiving, so it fits alongside the Turkey Dash. Its $20 adult entry and $5 kids 1K go to the Houston Food Bank, and its registration closes four days before the race. The Sugar Land race collects canned goods for East Fort Bend Human Needs Ministry, and its advance packet pickup on Nov. 25 is at Fleet Feet Sugar Land, 15890 Southwest Freeway. The Memorial Park run is organized with the Houston Striders and the Houston Area Road Runners Association, and it costs nothing to enter.

The kitchen deadlines

A household that runs the 10K at 7:30 and spends the rest of the morning at the tailgate won't be starting a full Thanksgiving dinner from scratch at noon. That makes the restaurant cutoffs part of planning the race morning.

Local Table, 24033 Cinco Ranch Blvd. The Cinco Ranch location's holiday menu, marked "rev. 2026," lists a family feast for four at $95, a feast for ten at $245 and seasonal pies at $25. Boxed meals and à la carte dishes are available too. Orders need at least 24 hours' notice. Thanksgiving orders close Monday, November 23 at 2 p.m., and the last pickup is Wednesday, November 25 at 7 p.m. That's the night before the race, so dinner can be in the refrigerator before anyone sets an alarm for the 10K.

Black Bear Diner, 24600 Katy Freeway, Suite 900. The 2026 holiday meals include turkey, ham or prime rib, and the family-style takeout serves up to four. A whole pumpkin pie can be added. Thanksgiving ordering opens November 19. Prices vary by location, so the Katy price will show up when ordering opens.

Citrino Bakery and Cafe, 5560 S. Peek Road. Citrino opened October 24, and Community Impact describes its menu as pastries, breads, coffee and cakes. This is its first Thanksgiving season, and it's the newest name on the holiday bread-and-pastry list near the neighborhood.

For runners who want a practice run first, the free weekly Fleet Feet Katy Tuesday 5K Community Run at LaCenterra is on the calendar for November 24 at 6 p.m. That's the same evening as the Y's second packet pickup window, from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Monty Ballard YMCA. Check the calendar before heading out, because the timing is tight for doing both.

For more than 25 years, Andrea has watched these holiday routines grow up alongside the neighborhood. Whether you're lining up for the 10K or cheering at the tailgate with coffee, it's a good morning to say hello to the people on your street. If seeing the neighborhood come out on Westheimer Parkway has you thinking about your next step in Katy, Andrea Smith would be glad to talk it through. Schedule a Consultation.