Golden leaves line the streets of downtown Bethesda as thousands of runners gather excitedly at the start line for the race. A crisp breeze blows through the early morning air and local residents of all ages prepare for the run ahead. The race begins, and the rhythmic sound of feet hitting the pavement fills the air.
In late November, the annual Turkey Chase Charity Race, which began in 1982, will return to Bethesda for its 42nd year. The race gives back to the Bethesda community through a 50–60 dollar entry fee, supporting the local YMCA and Bethesda Chevy Chase (B-CC) Rotary Club. The race offers in-person and virtual events, ranging from a two-mile in-person run to virtual swims and bike rides.
Senior and cross-country runner Gabrielle Griffin has run the two-mile and 10k races for years. She loves the community that racing builds, she said.
“People will wear turkey costumes or Christmas stuff so I just like seeing all the spirit,” Griffin said. “I do it with my mom every year and I have friends on cross country that do it, so it’s just a tradition.”
The YMCA staff originally founded the Turkey Chase Charity Race as a race consisting of a swim and a run. However, in its second year, organizers decided to make the race strictly a run due to limited pool space, which wouldn’t be able to accommodate the ever-increasing number of participants. In its inaugural year, the race had a couple hundred participants, but after the YMCA partnered with the B-CC Rotary Club to increase funding, the number of participants increased to around 8,000 runners yearly.
Senior and cross-country runner Olivia Woitach has participated in the race from a young age and it is now an annual event for her. She appreciates the runners’ spirit and how dedicated everyone is to the same cause, she said.
“It’s very cute, it’s a lot of people in the same space celebrating the same thing,” Woitach said. “I feel like if I don’t do it, I’ll miss out on something.”
Executive Director of the Metropolitan Washington YMCA Tracy Miller has worked in the race for 20 years, helping organize it for 12. The race generates funds that allow the YMCA to encourage families to pursue healthy lifestyles and raises between 150,000 and 200,000 dollars annually for charity, Miller said.
Part of the funds raised goes to the youth and family services branch at the YMCA. The branch holds after-school programs for kids, teenage leadership activities and family/parent counseling. The remainder of the funds go to scholarship programs that provide financial assistance for YMCA memberships. The B-CC Rotary also gets a portion of the race’s proceeds, which they use to fund their grant programs to support local nonprofits and initiatives addressing hunger or homelessness, Miller said.
The YMCA impacts all areas of the Bethesda community. They support the Greentree Shelter, a homeless shelter in Bethesda that strives to create stability for children and families experiencing sudden homelessness. The YMCA also supports local programs that assist families through summer camps, sports and clubs.
“We’ve had people participate in youth and family services,” Miller said. “Linkages to Learning is a county program but we’re one of the organizations that facilitated it to help families and children adjust to their communities and their surroundings.”
The YMCA’s extensive reach is crucial to its impact. The Turkey Chase Charity Race is not only an event that provides a community, but it also supports individuals to prioritize their health and recenter their lives, Miller said.
“It’s more than a race,” Miller said. “The most important thing I think people should know is that because of their participation and because of our partners that sponsor us, we are able to change lives. At the end of the day, helping people is really what it’s all about.”
