Race Day Schedule

View the Race Day Schedule and be sure to bookmark it for race day! I’m tried to make it as mobile friendly as possible so you can easily pull it up on your mobile devices.

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Radio Frequencies for the Event

Please be certain all three of these frequencies are in your radio and tested before race day.

	Tune To*	When to Use	NCS Call Sign
Event Frequencies	146.960 PL 110.9 (- .6 MHz)	brief exchanges; location checks; primary emergency frequency	W5DCR
	442.425 PL 110.9 (+ 5 MHz)	extended talk; backup if Primary Frequency has issues	W5FC
Talk In Frequency	146.880 PL 110.9 (- .6 MHz)	Communication before/after event; driving help; parking help; backup if Event Frequencies have issues	W5FC
APRS Beaconing	144.390 Simplex	APRS	– 7

* Be sure to pay special attention to your offsets: – .6 MHz for VHF 2m, + 5 MHz for UHF 70cm. It’s easy to forget the difference if you don’t use a lot of UHF repeaters and wonder why no one can hear you on race day. Ask me how I know…

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Driving Directions to Race Day Base Camp at Dallas City Hall

Step-by-step driving instructions taking you to the parking area right behind the DARC trailer which will be parked on the Plaza at Dallas City hall have been added to the Race Operations Map. This is where all Section 1 assignees will park . Look on the left hand menu for the Travel-In Directions section. Clicking on any of the “From” pins will open up the directions. The directions start in a general area on the highway of travel, assuming you know how to get that far.

We have a detailed list of all street closures including closure start and ending times if you’re coming in from somewhere else.

Section 3-7 assignees (water stops, course coverage positions) are welcome to skip the parking and go straight to your positions. If any Section 3-7 assignees intend to come in, please contact Guy K1GBD on the talk-in frequency so we can be sure there’s parking available.

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Tactical Call Signs Added to All Volunteer Assignments

After some great feedback during our video info session I’ve assigned tactical call signs to everyone for race day. Please visit the Volunteer Assignments page to find yours.

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Volunteer Assignments Now Posted

Volunteer assignments are now posted and can be viewed on the Volunteer Assignments page.

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NEW REPORTING TIME FOR VOLUNTEERS (sorry)! ⏰

I spoke to Giselle Patterson, race director for the Turkey Trot, and she asked that we be at the volunteer tent and ready to meet our assignments by 6:00AM. 

That means that volunteers who are assigned to Y personnel – and that will be most of you – will need to report to the DARC trailer by 5:45AM at the latest.

We still need you even if you can’t get there at 5:45AM so please email Guy asap and we’ll work it out for you.

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New! Google Maps Course and DARC Race Operations Map:

See below for the Google Map that shows the race course (8 Mile and 5K), key race day locations (where to park, location of DARC base of operations, water stations, etc), as well as driving directions to the parking area from all directions around the city. 

You’ll also notice the course is broken up into Sections 1-6. These are coverage areas that will help us communicate locations better, ensure even coverage around the course, and help folks get a better sense of where their position is. We’ll cover the sections in detail during our info sessions (see above for dates and times).

We’re received some feedback asking for written directions in addition to the driving routes on the map, so we’re working on that at the moment. If you think of anything that’s missing let us know and/or join one of the above events or hit us up on Discord.

Click here to open the map in a new window.

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About Turkey Trot

The DARC will once again have the privilege of serving as primary comms support for the YMCA Turkey Trot coming up this Thanksgiving Day 11/24/22 and we need your help!

“The Trot” is an 8-mile footrace and 5K run/walk over a course that winds through Downtown Dallas, across the Trinity River and back, giving competitors and leisure participants alike some of the best views of Big D around.

During the event, DARC coordinates a team of volunteer amateur radio operators separated into a combination of stationary and roaming positions, providing a reliable and flexible communication network across the city. All traffic is passed through dedicated net controllers stationed inside the DARC mobile communications trailer parked at the race start/finish at Dallas City Hall.