WASHINGTON — A local Thanksgiving day race has become a relay of sorts that it will finish up this weekend in Afghanistan.
“I had always run the Bethesda 10K — the Turkey Chase — with my family,” said Lt. Col. Eduardo Monarez.
Because he is stationed in Kabul, Monarez couldn’t make it this year. So he took matters into his own hands and reached out to race organizers. He suggested they stage a branch of the Turkey Chase in Afghanistan.
It was instantly a hit.
“What started out as a small effort has grown to over a hundred people,” he says.
Monarez’s wife, Susan, ran her leg of the Bethesda Turkey Chase on Thursday, pushing her kids in a stroller.
“The emotional part was hard because this is something that my husband and I have been doing together for years,” she says.
And yes, they will be chasing a bird: soldier Alexander Raborn dressed in a turkey costume.
“I was the lowest ranking person and I just happened to be fast,” he says.
The Turkey Chase will be a symbolic passing of the baton for the 100 servicemembers who will run the Kabul branch. Raborn says it’s a great feeling to know they will be finishing something started back home.
WTOP’s Paula Wolfson contributed to this report.
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