On Thanksgiving morning in 2021, plenty of runners showed up in Wesley Chapel and found two different 5K turkey trots running. Neighborhood News wrote that if you were confused by it, "you weren't alone." One race stayed at The Shops at Wiregrass. The other moved down the road to Tampa Premium Outlets in Lutz, and between them the two events drew more than 1,000 runners and walkers that year.
Five Thanksgivings later, both races are still running, on the same date and close to the same hour. They share a history, and both have "Wiregrass" in their past. If you live on the SR-56 side of Lutz, the race in your own backyard began with a running store's move out of the mall, not with a new idea. Knowing that story is the quickest way to make sense of the 2026 schedules.
How one race turned into two
The original trot was a group effort. A history posted for the Wiregrass Turkey Trot says the Rotary Club of New Tampa, the New Tampa YMCA and FITniche, then the running store at The Shops at Wiregrass, started planning in late 2012. Their first race, on Thanksgiving morning 2013, drew more than 1,400 participants and raised over $20,000. FITniche tells it from an earlier starting point. On its race page it says the tradition started more than 15 years ago as a "coffee and bagels" fun run that drew almost 200 people.
The split happened in steps:
- April 2020. FITniche moved its store out of The Shops at Wiregrass to a new spot in Flatwoods, a few miles away. That store is now Fleet Feet.
- After the move. FITniche's FAQ says its race could no longer be held at The Shops at Wiregrass once the store had moved out.
- Thanksgiving 2021. The mall held its own Wiregrass Turkey Trot with the New Tampa Rotary as a partner. Rich Wills, who founded the FITniche race, moved what Neighborhood News called the "official" Wiregrass Wobble 5K and 1(tur)K to Tampa Premium Outlets. That was its first year at the Outlets, and the paper said runners "raved about the new course."
Today the Lutz race is called the BayCare Wobble Turkey Trot, and its listing still says "Formerly The Original Wiregrass Wobble Turkey Trot 5K." The Rotary race calls the club its "founding host" and says 2026 is its 14th year at The Shops at Wiregrass. Both have kept going, and each one has its own hospital partner, charity and schedule.
Thursday, November 26, side by side
Here is how the two compare on paper as of this week:
| BayCare Wobble Turkey Trot | Wiregrass Turkey Trot | |
|---|---|---|
| Location | Tampa Premium Outlets, 2300 Grand Cypress Dr, Lutz | The Shops at Wiregrass, 28139 Paseo Dr, Wesley Chapel |
| Organizer and partner | FITniche, presented by BayCare Hospital Wesley Chapel | Rotary Club of New Tampa with AdventHealth Wesley Chapel |
| First start | 5K at 7:00 a.m. | Kids Dash, ages 12 and under, at 7:15 a.m. |
| Main 5K | 7:00 a.m., mass start | 8:00 a.m. |
| Shorter option | 1(Tur)K at 8:15 a.m. | 1-mile fun run/walk at 8:05 a.m., untimed |
| Listed prices | 5K $40, 1(Tur)K $25, combo $45 | 5K was $35 until 11:59 p.m. Nov. 2, then rose; 1-mile $25, Kids Dash $20 |
| Benefits | Mary W. Sierra Family YMCA and other local charities | 100 percent of net proceeds to charity |
The start times are what really separate the two. The Lutz 5K goes off an hour before the Wiregrass 5K, so a family that wants to be done and home before the oven needs attention has the earlier gun right on SR-56. The Wiregrass schedule starts with the kids' race, then the 5K, then the mile, so the morning is built around children going first.
In Lutz, the race still runs through the old store
The Wobble has changed malls, but much of its race-week setup still runs through the store whose move started all this. Packet pickup is listed at three times:
- Tuesday, Nov. 24, 4 to 7 p.m. The FAQ page lists Fleet Feet Flatwoods, 8604 Hunters Village Road, Tampa. The main race page lists the Tampa Premium Outlets food court for the same evening, so check with [email protected] before you drive.
- Wednesday, Nov. 25, 4 to 7 p.m. Tampa Premium Outlets food court.
- Thursday, Nov. 26, 6 to 6:45 a.m. The outlet's main pedestrian entrance at the roundabout.
If you miss race day, the FAQ says you have a week afterward to pick up your packet at Fleet Feet Flatwoods. Packets can also be mailed for a $7 fee.
Parking is the part neighbors are most likely to get wrong. The race asks runners to park in the outer sections of the lot, near and around Costco. If you park in an inner section, you can't leave until police reopen the mall after the last finisher crosses. The start and finish share one spot in front of the mall's main entrance. Once all the runners are through the start, the timing mat switches to finish mode, at about 7:05. If you start after that, your time defaults to gun time, which the race says adds at least several minutes. The race also notes the posted 2026 course may change slightly because of mall restrictions.
The deadline that matters most falls next week. BayCare Wobble prices go up after 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 18, and the 5K-plus-1(Tur)K combo closes that same night. Online registration for the in-person race closes at 7 p.m. on Nov. 25. The virtual 5K stays open until 11:59 p.m. that night. If you can't make it in person, your registration can be switched to the virtual option, since the race doesn't give refunds. Guaranteed shirt sizes ended Nov. 1, so shirts are now first come, first served. Finishers get a long-sleeve tech shirt, a bib and a steel finisher medal.
The Wobble has drawn big crowds before. A 2019 Neighborhood News story said the 2018 race had 2,263 runners, and that the event had drawn more than 14,000 participants and given over $170,000 to area charities since it began. Those are pre-move totals, but they show how big the event was when it left Wiregrass.
At Wiregrass, the morning is built for costumes
The Rotary race has grown its own traditions in its home spot. Its 2026 page promises finisher medals, turkey trophies, selfie stations, music at the start, finish and along the route, a warm-up at the start line, and a costume contest with prizes for the top three. There's even a race jingle, with lyrics by Rotarian Gary Gunter.
The Rotary race reports $483,450 donated over 13 years. Put that next to the more than $20,000 raised at the first joint race in 2013, and you can see how much the event has grown in its original parking lot.
Wiregrass packet pickup is spread over four days: Monday, Nov. 23 from noon to 4 p.m., Tuesday and Wednesday from 4 to 8 p.m., and race morning from 6 to 7:30 a.m. Wiregrass shirts are also first come, first served at pickup now that Nov. 1 has passed. Registration for the 1-mile stays open until 8:10 a.m. on race morning, and the Kids Dash until 7:20 a.m.
Once the runners leave, both lots stay empty until Friday
Both races can take over a mall parking lot because neither mall opens on the holiday. The Shops at Wiregrass and Tampa Premium Outlets both list Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 26, as closed.
The next morning is a different story. Tampa Premium Outlets posts Black Friday hours of 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Nov. 27, and The Shops at Wiregrass posts 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Those come from the malls' live hours pages, so check them before you set an alarm. In Lutz, the lot near Costco where you parked for the 7 a.m. gun on Thursday will be open for shoppers before sunrise on Friday.
I love race-morning traditions like these, and I hear about them all the time from neighbors around SR-56 and Bruce B. Downs. If one of the races has you thinking about which part of Lutz or Wesley Chapel fits your Thanksgivings for the long run, I'd be glad to talk it through over coffee after you cross the finish line. When it's time to buy or sell, call Shell! Shells Florida Realty
