Starting Thanksgiving Day, the Potomac Valley Audubon Society began accepting online registrations for its 11th annual “This Race is for the Birds!” event.

The event will be held on Saturday, April 21, 2012 on the campus of the National Conservation Training Center near Shepherdstown, in conjunction with the Center’s annual open house.

To register, and for more information, go to the race website at www.raceforthebirds.org. Or contact the race directors, James and Suzy Munnis, at jmun nis@earthlink.net or 304-876-6784.

The race will include two professionally timed races-one 4.9 miles long and another 7.7 miles long.

Registration for these two races will be capped at 400 for both, so same-day registration may not be available.

There will also be a self-timed 2-mile community jog/walk for families and individuals who prefer a slower pace, and a 1-mile “Fun Run” for children under 10 years of age.

The 4.9- and 7.7-mile races will follow trails that wind through the forests and fields of the 538-acre NCTC campus.

The 2-mile jog/walk will follow a course that will be very user-friendly for families with small children, and trail-friendly baby joggers will be appropriate and encouraged.

The trails on the NCTC campus are not normally open to the general public so this will be a good opportunity to visit and enjoy the facility’s beautiful trail network.

The two races will begin at 9 a.m. The jog/walk will begin shortly afterwards and the children’s Fun Run will be held at about 10:45 a.m.

The children’s Fun Run will be free. Fees for the other portions of the event will range from $15 to $25.

All proceeds will be used to support Potomac Valley Audubon’s programs for children, and all fees will be tax deductible.

The Potomac Valley Audubon Society is a United Way of the Eastern Panhandle partner agency and a member of the Combined Federal Campaign.