ELKHART -- For a guy wearing a turkey costume weighing seven pounds, Ryan Greutman can run pretty fast. But not as fast as Lucas Roscoe.
Greutman led a massive crowd of runners and walkers during the first Turkey Stampede on Thursday. Between 550 and 600 people showed up to McNaughton Park between 8 and 8:30 a.m. to trek between one mile and five kilometers.
The event benefited Faith Mission of Elkhart.
Mike Perez, development director for Faith Mission, said organizers were looking for a unique way to raise money for the organization.
People who pre-registered for the event paid $20. But Perez wasn't expecting so many participants.
"We're a little overwhelmed by the response," he said. "Not that we're completely overwhelmed, but it did kind of surprise us."
Matt Long and Cathy Anderson were two of the runners.
Long and Anderson run between 15 and 16 miles per week, and Long reasoned Thursday's run was a great way to burn calories before Thanksgiving dinner.
"What else do you do on a rainy Thanksgiving morning?" said Cathy.
Decked out in his Thanksgiving-themed regalia, Greutman, who was asked to dress as a turkey by the event's organizers, was the proverbial carrot for over 500 rabbits. He was given a 50-second head start before the rest of the pack. The first male and female runners to "catch him" -- or cross the finish line first -- were awarded gift certificates.
The run began shortly after 8:30 a.m. Fifteen minutes and fifty eight seconds later, Roscoe crossed the finish line several seconds ahead of Greutman. Roscoe runs for Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Mich., and just started training again last week after an injury forced him to take a month off.
"Not too disappointed with not running for so long," he said, slightly out of breath after finishing.
Hundreds more gathered Thursday morning for the sixth annual I'm Thankful Four in Nappanee. Mark Mikel, whose family puts on the road run and walk, said they were likely to have more than 500 runners and walkers and set a new record despite the cold rain and wind. This year's event had walks and runs of two and four miles starting and ending at NorthWood High School.
Runners and walkers don't get numbers or official times. They just run and walk after paying an entry fee that benefits The Kelsey Mikel Foundation, which gives college scholarships to NorthWood students and helps students in other ways.
Kelsey was a NorthWood High School honor roll student when she died following a car accident in 2004. Mark proudly introduced his other daughters prior to the run and thanked people for their participation and support in the community event.
He said this year's event could raise more than $7,000 for the foundation.