So much for getting a warning. Not one house on my block got any notice whatsoever and we're directly on the course. Way to be great neighbors!

Wee bit grumpy aren't we McBrinn. I think this-article and the numerous previous ones serve as your notice. Why don't you be a good neighbor and let the newcomers on your street know?

Not grumpy at all. Just pointing out that the organizers have failed to do what was promised. While I'm most definitely a good neighbor (routinely bringing in the elderly one's trash cans and recycling, shoveling their walks, and keeping an eye on their house while they're out of town) it certainly isn't MY responsibility to do the Trot's work.

As someone else pointed out before, we can't decide who get inconvienanced based on what media circles they follow. It isn't fair to assume everyone reads this tiny website. And now, sans notification flyer, there will be a good number of folks blind sided on Thanksgiving morning. And that aint cool no matter how you feel about the race.

That's really, really lame that they didn't notify everyone. They think their little race is more important that the actual residents enjoying their Thanksgiving?!

McBrinn, the organizers would be very, very interested to know what street you live on. I know for a fact that packets were made and picked up for distribution for EVERY street on the route and if no one on your street was notified, that is a MAJOR problem and means that a volunteer we had counted on either misunderstood or some how let us down. I can promise you that it was of high priority to notify all our neighbors of the upcoming street closings. We also, after 37 years of beginning the race at 10 am, at the request of some neighbors and the City are starting the race an hour earlier in hopes of causing less of an impact. McBrinn, could you please let me know what street and block you live on? I know we will want to follow up immediately with your block.

My brother lives on E. Mason right by Mt. Vernon and he wasn't notified either. He's unable to cross Mt. Vernon during the race. Should he have been notified?

What were the criteria that should have resulted in getting notification?

Is it possible that the notices were only given to the addresses that would be completely blocked by the race? My street is one of those that is completely within the race route. I haven't asked my neighbors, but I got a notice, so thank you to the volunteer that went down my street. I'll move my car across Commonwealth the night before since the race is earlier.

Turkey Trot organizers just sent me a .PDF file with info about street closures on Thursday related to the race. It's attached to the story. You can click on it just to the right of the text.

So, yeah, my brother is inside the route and yet he didn't receive any notice at all. What a mickey mouse operation.

Alexandria requests that event organizers notify every front door on the race route as a courtesy to the residents and businesses before the event. If you would like to hold someone responsible, you can blame me. I have been in charge of the distribution of notifications for the past two years. With over 700 front doors on the race route it is a multi-person effort. Delivery is a huge challenge. Last year someone released their dog on me. This year another volunteer was cursed out for leaving the notice at the door. This event is supposed to be fun and something that benefits the neighborhood and the residents. After working on the Turkey Trot since 1992 and a death in my family this week, the last thing that I thought I would deal with is complaints on Del Ray Patch. I can step down from this volunteer effort if you feel slighted in any way or truly think this dedication is lame.

Sorry to hear about your recent death Melanie. I really am. But that isn't related to this race. At all.

To imply that those individuals who live in Del Ray and are unaware that they'll be blocked in for several hours- by a race they have absolutely zero interest in- on Thanksgivig, no less, are somehow indignant, well, you're 100% in the wrong.

Don't you dare tell me or anyone else in my neighborhood what we should or shouldn't be grateful or appreciative for. You have no idea how I or my husband contribute to this community so you can step off your high horse for screwing up the handing out of 700 flyers.

Seriously, this is unreal. Just who do you think you are? You have the audacity to offend those who are put out by something they don't support?!

I realize it would suck to have your street blocked on Thanksgiving morning, and it stinks if everyone didn't receive fliers for whatever reason. But after however many years, can't you kinda see this coming? The route is posted on the event website. Not saying you should be happy about it, just that you shouldn't be caught off guard.

My brother moved here in 12/ 11. I'd bet more than a few others have moved here in the last few years.

Tell ya what. How about I block your street off, give you no warning or notification and than say, "Well, they choose to live in the area, so tough luck" ?

Maybe at work tomorrow they'll switch out your chair for an upturned 5-gallon bucket.

Surely you wouldn't care, right?

Any individual inconvenience for a short period of time is outweighed by the benefits of this event to the community and the thousands of participants. Thank you to the organizers, volunteers, and participants. Happy Thanksgiving.

In the spirit of the season, if a few road closures were all I had to stress about I would GIVE THANKS. Park around the corner and get back to the business at hand, counting your blessings and spending time with loved ones. Thank you to all the organizers and volunteers for working so hard to make ( and keep) our little neighborhood such a special place.

What has gotten into people - is there a contest to see who can be the most hurtful and hateful?? If so, Susan and McBrinn you deserve the honors. These are volunteers and our neighbors that are giving up their time, their holidays to try to make this a fun, vibrant community. According to the list serve, the Turkey Trot collects thousands of cans of food each year for the needy along with contributing $5,000 to ALIVE - yes, helping those that don't have much to be thankful for. And give me a break, this race that has been taking place in Del Ray every year for almost 40 years has until, the last 2 years NEVER to my knowledge received complaints & yes, I grew up in Del Ray so have some basis for what I say. No - maybe not everyone on every street received an individual notice, but sounds like they did everything they could to notify people. IF you are going to have to get out during that 1 3/4 hours, move your car ahead of time. Happy Thanksgiving!

The Turkey Trot is a great Del Ray tradition. Flyers have been hanging in nearly all of the Del Ray businesses for weeks and this is an annual event. Come out and cheer on the runners. It is a great start to Thanksgiving and several local shops will be open for essential bagel and coffee needs. Trot on.

While I completely understand that it can be annoying to have your street blocked on Thanksgiving morning, there really is no need for the nastiness. I have lived along the course for years and have gotten stuck for a short time on a few occasions, but the police usually do a very good job of opening the streets as soon as the runners pass and directing folks to spots where they can cross. I personally wish they would switch back to the previous race course that started and ended at Cora Kelly. I thought it was more fun to run and if JoeH is rig that the complaints are only in the past two years, maybe going back to the old route would resolve them.

I agree that the nastiness is out of order but I also sense some entitlement and self righteousness from the race organizers and participants. It is their event and it does hinder non participants on a huge holiday, after all. That it collects food for the needy doesn't mitigate the negative impact it has on non participants. Surely I can't block my neighbor's driveway simply because I volunteer at the Carpenter Shelter?

Is the Turkey Trot essential? Does the possession of a permit alleviate the burden on those blocked in? No and no.

Wow! There are some pretty frustrated neighbors around and I'm sorry about that. I helped to distribute flyers for this race in 2011. Distributing flyers can be challenging - there is often no good place to put the flyer to prevent it from blowing away. Volunteers do their best to place them in a visible area where they won't blow away, but sometimes it can't be helped.

There are some neighbors who actually enjoy the race coming down their street. They come out on their lawns and cheer for the runners with coffee in hand.

While the turkey trot disrupts traffic for a few hours and frustrates some nieghbors, it is an event that gives Del Ray a sense of community. The same goes for - Art on the Avenue, the Halloween Parade, the weekly farmer's market, the Christmas Tree lighting, the Kelly Cares race...These are all events that many neighbors look forward to each year.

I'm getting it from runners like Patrick, Joseph. And from the woman above who extolled the hardship of delivering fliers to people who would be blocked in on Thanksgiving by a race they have no desire for. They seem to think that they're entitled to have this race and inconveinance nonparticipants. And label "nastiness" anyone who dare voice his opposition.to being blocked in on Thanksgiving morning.

I came into work this morning and someone had replaced my chair with a bucket. At first I was really mad at the audacity of the gall of the nerve and then I realized "hey, free bucket" so I have that going for me.
I am so thankful that our long, national nightmare will end at approximately 10:15 tomorrow morning.

As for the race organizers, the fact remains that they have put in a lot of time and effort into an event that provides both food for the hungry and a fun morning for about 1,000 runners. I don't think they deserve a free pass into heaven as a result, but I also don't think they deserve the raft of sh*t they are getting here. As far as I know, they have complied with all the rules regarding permits, etc., and tried, perhaps unsuccessfully, to go beyond the rules requirements as far as notifying people. Anytime there is a race or a parade or a concert or art festival or whatever, some oxes are going to be gored more than others. I realize that "life is unfair" is very unsatisfying to hear, but life is, in fact, unfair.

Please believe me, the organizers and anyone involved in the race is trying to impose as little as possible for as little time as possible. The good news, if you are "inside the route" and/or on streets that intersect the actual route, if you need to drive during this 1 1/2 hours, you can still do so. This is what I received from the police who I believe are going above and beyond to help us try to relieve concerns "We will always try and help people cross the route when clear or if there are breaks or gaps in the race or if they are stuck on the route we will assist them in getting where they need to go. There may be some instances where there is a delay because of the volume of runners. There may be a place or two where someone could encounter cones blocking the street without an officer present but there is an officer close by. You can hand out my number and I can help anyone that needs more help. 703 380 6187." So, if you have an emergency once the race begins at 9 am to approximately 10:15 and can't move, you can call that number. Thank you Sgt. Seskey!!! And thank you to all those neighbors that are understanding, patient and supportive of our efforts.

I'm not a disinterested party, since I donated about 10 hours of my time to this event each year, but I just want to point out that each runner is asked to donate 2 food items to the food bank. Granted, not everyone remembers but a goal of 5000 runners x 2 food items equals a LOT of hungry Alexandrians getting food for themselves and their families. I think that's worth a few minor inconveniences. Plus, there's a great sense of community among the runners, the cheering spectators (selfish folk like me), and the chance to get a little fresh air and exercise before a day of sitting around watching football and eating. I've never ever in 20 years of volunteering for this event seen the police force anyone to wait 2 hours to leave their street or otherwise abridge their liberties in any way. Frankly, in the past when we've cleaned up the event and all headed home you could pretty much hear a pin drop around here there's so little activity in the neighborhood.

I'm in no way an organizer of this event but having watched out hard people like Gayle and Mellenie work on this and other events, it really makes me sad to see how much venom has been directed at them.

And if it does turn out to be some sort of unholy nightmare for you, document the problems and work with the organizers to address those problems so we don't go through this again next year. It's how we all learn as a community, in my opinion.

This isn't the Olympic Marathon. It's basically a community fun run. If someone needs to move their car or get somewhere in an emergency, I'm sure the police will stop the runners and let the driver through and no one will lose their Wheaties endorsement contract over it. In years past I've seen the cops stop walkers to let drivers through .

I'm so saddened by the level of acrimony in this stream. What happened to civility in this community?! If you have a problem with the event, take it up with the organizers. I know personally that they are a wonderful group of well-intentioned, hard working volunteers who deserve respect. Happy freaking Thanksgiving.

I am very excited to watch my husband and children run for the first time this year! It's yet another great event in our neighborhood that make me proud to say that I live in Del Ray. Thanks to all of the organizers. I think it's safe to say that most of us in the neighborhood really appreiate your hard work.

Why don't all you whiners chillax and be thankful for this Thanksgiving day and all we have. Think of all those in Jersey in NY that would love to have our problems. Just sayin.

Funny Bob. I actually had some a**hole with Jersey plates block me in this morning. His car double parked beside my curb-parked car for the duration of the race. Unfortunately for me and fortunately for him it was gone when I came back from Giant. Yay Turkey Trot!

I will add, however, that it beat last year's turd someone left beside my AC unit. What a great tradition!

This was my first Turkey Trot and I had a great time. Many thanks to Mellanie, Gayle and all of the other organizers and volunteers. Big thanks also to all of those in the neighborhood who came out to cheer, provided water, etc. Happy Thanksgiving to all.

I think John Womack is drunk. His post makes no sense.

The Turkey Trot was a great day! We have incorporated it into our Thanksgiving tradition. While we do not run in it, we invite friends who are running in the race, to stop over before and after the race for snacks and coffee. This year, we set up a canopy and a table in our yard, deemed ourselves "Slacker HQ" and provided fresh fruit to enthusiastic participants afterward.

A young woman from DC asked if we could give her a bag of ice for some muscle pain. We were happy to do so. She and her mom told us how nice everyone in DelRay is and were so glad that they decided to sign-up for the event.

Moving our cars so that the event could start/stop in front of our house was not a problem. We look forward next year's Trot.

I'm closing comments on this story. If you have any questions, email me at drewh@patch.com.