At 6:45 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 15, the 12th Annual Ron Jon Cocoa Beach Half Marathon starts at Hangars Beach on Patrick Space Force Base and heads north up A1A toward town. Eleven days later, at 8 a.m. on Thanksgiving, more than 4,500 people line up behind Bailiwick Mall on North Brevard Avenue for the Cocoa Beach Turkey Trot.
Both races take place in the same small city in the same month. Both are planned around A1A. The half marathon borrows the road, and almost every rule it has exists so it can give the road back on time. The Turkey Trot doesn't use A1A at all. If you live here, that tells you how to handle each one. On the 15th, plan your morning around the 9:45 a.m. mark. On the 26th, you can walk to the start.
The line in the rulebook that explains the half marathon
The race listing states the rule this way:
"No walkers allowed in the half marathon as A1A is needed to reopen within the permitted time limit."
That comes from the event listing on CocoaBeach.com, which also sets a three-hour limit for half marathoners and a two-hour limit for the 10K.
Do the math with the start times. The half starts at 6:45 a.m., and its three hours end at 9:45. The 10K starts an hour later, at 7:45 a.m., and its two hours also end at 9:45. Two races of different lengths, starting an hour apart, both have to be finished at the same moment. The organizers haven't posted exact road-closure or reopening times, so 9:45 a.m. is not a confirmed reopening time. It is the latest point at which either race allows anyone to still be on the course, and it's the most useful number to plan around if your Sunday includes a drive along the beach.
The half's FAQ says the same thing: walkers can't enter the half, but they're welcome in the 10K. The slower pace goes into the race with the later start and the shorter limit.
Where the course comes off the road
The route also does part of its job by leaving A1A for a while. According to the race course map, the half runs like this:
- North on A1A from Hangars Beach to Hernando Lane, by Ron Jon Surf Shop
- South on Ocean Beach Boulevard
- Through Marion Lane and Shepard Park
- South on the beach itself, coming off near Minutemen Causeway
- North again on A1A to the finish on I Dream of Jeannie Lane, the south entrance to Lori Wilson Park
The listing describes the beach section as 2.9 miles "on the low tide and hard-packed sands of Cocoa Beach," where runners can expect to see fishing boats, cruise ships, porpoises and diving birds. The 10K starts at Lori Wilson Park and covers the same northern loop, Shepard Park and beach stretch before coming back on A1A to I Dream of Jeannie Lane.
This year's race is an "I Dream of Jeannie" event with a disco theme. Finishers in both distances get a disco Jeannie-bottle medal, and the listing promises music along the course. Connors Wealth Management is the presenting sponsor.
Watching without getting your car stuck
If you'd rather cheer than wait it out, the race's spectator guide is the page to read. It's an older page that still calls the base by its Air Force name, so treat its details as the organizer's standing advice, not 2026 logistics confirmed this month. The basics: there's no parking at the start, and almost 8 miles of the course run along northbound A1A, so most side streets that cross A1A work as viewing spots.
The two lots near the start come with a catch:
- Beach House lot, Mile 1: park on either side until 6:55 a.m. Cars in the east lot can't leave until the last runner or walker has passed.
- Tables Beach lot, Mile 1.65: park until 7 a.m. Cars can't leave until the last participant has passed.
From closer to town, the guide lists these spots:
- Minutemen Causeway and A1A: runners pass twice, at Mile 5.2 and Mile 11.75
- Cocoa Isles and A1A: Mile 6
- DoubleTree: Mile 6.65 on A1A, then Mile 10 on the beach behind the hotel
- Behind Lori Wilson Park: Mile 10.5 on the sand, then the finish on I Dream of Jeannie Lane
Minutemen Causeway is the efficient choice. You see runners on the way out and again near the end, and you're a short walk from downtown when the course clears.
Eleven days later, the race stays off A1A
Remember the Cocoa Isles and A1A intersection, Mile 6 on Nov. 15. On Thanksgiving morning, the Turkey Trot uses Cocoa Isles very differently. It's a 5K for runners and walkers that starts and finishes at Bailiwick Mall, 20 N. Brevard Ave., and loops through the residential streets of Cocoa Isles.
Walkers aren't turned away from this one. The City of Cocoa Beach calendar lists the event from 8 to 11 a.m., with the 5K at 8 and the free Little Gobbler kids' run at 9:30. The race registration page also offers a Turkey Team division, where two to six people carry a supplied 12-pound turkey and cross the finish together. The 2026 theme is "Celebrating America's 250th," and this year's shirt and medal follow it.
The early $25 registration price ended after Oct. 25, so check the current fee on the official Turkey Trot site before you sign up. Packet pickup runs on several dates, with a final pickup at Bailiwick Mall on race morning.
Thanksgiving week, in order
The Turkey Trot is the second of two downtown events that week. Here's how it lines up:
- Wednesday, Nov. 25, 5 to 7 p.m.: Cocoa Beach Main Street's free Cookie Crawl starts at Juice 'N Java and moves through downtown.
- Thursday, Nov. 26, before 8 a.m.: final packet pickup at Bailiwick Mall.
- 8 a.m.: the 5K starts from Bailiwick Plaza.
- 9:30 a.m.: the Little Gobbler kids' run.
- By 11 a.m.: the city's event window closes, which leaves the rest of the day for the turkey at home.
Juice 'N Java shows up on both days. It's the Cookie Crawl's starting point and a Turkey Trot sponsor.
Where the Turkey Trot money goes
The half marathon brings visitors to A1A for one Sunday morning. The Turkey Trot keeps its money in town. Its site says 100% of proceeds stay in Cocoa Beach and fund Cocoa Beach High's cross country and track teams, the Little Gobbler youth runs, the CBHS Key Club, Builder's Club and Kiwanis scholarships. The site names Kiwanis, sponsors and local run clubs as the group behind the event.
The 2026 sponsor list reads like a list of places you'd stop on a normal Saturday: Salty Bagel, Jazzy's Mainely Lobster, Papa Vito's, The Fat Donkey, Long Doggers, Juice N Java, Coconuts, Rusty's, Tiny Turtle and Ace Hardware.
For a sit-down meal after either race, there's a new option this fall. Fire + Bloom Coastal Kitchen at 130 Canaveral Plaza Blvd. was on Florida Today's August list of new openings as "Now open."
Whether you're cheering at Minutemen Causeway on the 15th or carrying a 12-pound turkey through Cocoa Isles on the 26th, the Beach Life 321 Team is happy to share what we know about the Space Coast's calendar. And when you're ready to find out what your own place near the race route is worth, ask us for a free home valuation.
