Saturday’s Butler YMCA Turkey Trot fundraiser turned out to be a family affair. Parents and children, some in strollers, participated in the annual 1-mile and 5K races to raise money for the Y’s discounted and free membership program.

Participants started and finished at the YMCA at 399 N. Washington St. The 1-mile course traveled West Penn Avenue and looped around Miller Avenue while the 5Kers traveled to Memorial Park and back.

Mark DuPont of Butler, on the 5K event, was joined by his wife, Leslie, and daughters, Emma, 10; Kate, 8; and Alice, 2.

Emma was going to run with her father. “I wanted to do this race. I run three times a week with my dad,” Emma said.

Leslie DuPont said she and Kate and Alice, who was in a stroller, were going to do the mile event.

Leslie DuPont said, “I do not run a lot. I work out, but I do not run. I will be running and walking.”

She said her 2-year-old was pretty happy, but “she’s in the stroller. She has her food and she’s pretty content. My husband’s the runner in the family.”

Brogan Best, 8, of Butler was going to run with his father, Dustin. He said his mother, Tristen Best, was sitting out the race, content to cheer from the sidelines.

“I’m a runner, but I’m not running today,” she said. “I haven’t trained. I used to do track and cross country. I ran the 2016 Boston Marathon, but I haven’t run much since. ”

She said her advice is to start slow and build up.

Dustin Best said, “I’m going out with him to have fun and try not to lose sight of him, that’s my strategy. I should tether him to me so he can drag me along.”

Nevada Hacker of Butler said she was going to run in the mile with her friend Bethany Kennedy’s daughter, Alayana.

Although this was her first time in a race, Hacker said, “”I can do a mile. I’m going to run with her daughter, who is 12, so I’m going to stay with her, slow and steady.“

Former YMCA employee Daniel DeFoggi, 71, of Butler said the Turkey Trot is an annual tradition for him.

“I’ve run it since they started way back in ’81 or ’82. I’m going to walk the mile. I just want to do it,” DeFoggi said.

Sue Kelly, a lifeguard at the Rose E. Schneider Family YMCA in Cranberry Township was trading in her whistle for a pair of running shoes Saturday

She said she was inspired by her daughter, who participated in the Providence Hood and Portland To Coast Relay covering 198 miles from the top of Mount Hood in Oregon to the Pacific Ocean to enter this year’s Turkey Trot.

“I do a lot of walking through the woods at Moraine State Park,” Kelly said before the race.

Zachary Vasey, a physical therapy assistant with NovaCare Rehabilitation, and his associate Lani Fetterman were giving runners pre-race massages with a massage gun to get their muscles stretched and warrmed up.

Runner Wes Ewell of Butler was on the table getting a massage before his race.

“I have not done this before. It’s pretty awesome. I’m stretched out and warmed up,” Ewell said.

Fetterman said they would be ready with massages at the end of the Turkey Trot to work out cramps and kinks in the participants.

The Turkey Trot is always slated for the first Saturday in November to avoid the many other races scheduled around Thanksgiving.

Christina Dreher, development director of the YMCA, said the YMCA had preregistered 155 runners for this year’s Turkey Trot and was hoping to get another 50 or so walk-up participants signed up Saturday morning.

“It’s because it’s a beautiful day. It’s a nice change from last year when we had ice crystals on the tables,” said Dreher.

She said the $25 entrance fee would be used to help families and children who might not otherwise afford our services to get memberships in the Y.

“We call them scholarships. We’ve been doing the Turkey Trot for years. This is the second year we’ve been doing it as a fundraiser for the Y,” she said.

“We raised $5,000 last year. It’s a big thank-you to our community for supporting the Y and our mission of helping people live their best lives,” she said.

Carrie Ohorodnyk, the executive director of the Rose E. Schneider Family YMCA, donned a turkey costume Saturday.

“I love it,” she said through her costume. “I pose for a lot of pictures with the kids.”

In the end, youth was served in both the 1-mile and 5K events.

Sawyer Vavro, 10, of Butler finished first in the mile with a time of 6:49 minutes.

“I feel good,” he said after the race. “I didn’t do much training. My brothers are runners. I finished under 7 minutes. I just kind of ran. I just didn’t give up. I was more concentrated on getting a good time.”

Brendan Eicher, 14, of Butler came in first in the 5K with a time of 19:04.

“I’m pretty tired afterwards, but I gave it my all. This was my first Turkey Trot. I was trying to stay the same distance behind the pace bike the whole way through and it worked for the most part,” said Eicher who plans to run track and cross country when he enters Butler Senior High School.