Applied Materials Silicon Valley Turkey Trot

The Applied Materials Silicon Valley Turkey Trot is a Thanksgiving Day 5K run/walk and 10K run through downtown San Jose, California, widely billed as America's largest Thanksgiving Day race. Founded in 2005 by the Silicon Valley Leadership Group Foundation after its leaders saw a similar event in Sacramento, it has carried Applied Materials as its multi-year title sponsor from that first edition. The flat, fast course starts and finishes near Guadalupe River Park/Arena Green in downtown San Jose, weaving through local neighborhoods and business districts before returning to a festival-style finish. Alongside the timed 5K and 10K, the event includes a Kids Fun Run for ages 2 to 7, a Virtual 5K/10K option for runners who cannot attend in person, and a CEO/Executive 5K with Bronze, Silver, and Gold charity tiers that add a race shirt, a branded vest, and VIP-area access for the registrant and a guest. Every dollar of net proceeds is donated to four Silicon Valley nonprofits — Healthier Kids Foundation, HomeFirst, Second Harvest of Silicon Valley, and Second Harvest Food Bank Santa Cruz County — and the race has raised more than $11.2 million for those causes since it began. Complimentary parking is available in downtown lots and garages, metered street parking is free on race day, and the organizers point out-of-town runners to the VTA light rail as the easiest way to reach the start.