While most people slept in Thanksgiving morning, several thousand runners woke up early to compete in the 2011 Turkey Chase.

Money raised through the races is given to local charities chosen by the BCC branches of the YMCA and Rotary Club.  Past recipients of the over 1.5 million dollars the race has raised since 1992 include the Greentree shelter and Bethesda Cares, local homeless outreach organizations.

In its 29th year, the Turkey Chase is the largest race in Montgomery County with over 9,000 competitors annually.  It consists of three events: a 10K run, a 2-mile walk/run and a 50 meter Tot Trot, all beginning near the BCC YMCA on Old Georgetown Road.

For the first year, a satellite Turkey Chase was held in Kabul, Afghanistan.  While Thanksgiving is an American holiday, the satellite 10K drew over 100 runners from NATO countries including Belgium, France, Romania and the United Kingdom.

Whitman placed second in the race for the $1000 Principal’s Prize scholarship to Walter Johnson for the fifth year in a row. The award, which is given to the public high school with the most registrants in the race, is sponsored by the Bethesda-Chevy Chase YMCA and BCC Rotary Club. Whitman came up short with 718 runners, even though Walter Johnson registered nearly 100 fewer runners than last year.

“It’s great that we were able to raise our numbers, but we don’t want to lose to our competitors,” principal Alan Goodwin said.

Goodwin is already planning how to capture the prize next year, he said.

“I’m thinking of student competition,” Goodwin said.  “Next year we can we can use student organizations by seeing how many football players or golf team members sign up.”

While junior Michael Gonzalez competed in the 10k for cross country training, classmate Jordan Chadwick ran in the Turkey Chase with her family as part of a revitalizing Thanksgiving morning tradition.

“I enjoy that the weather is usually cold so it is nice to run in,” Chadwick said.  “I feel energized throughout the rest of the day.”