By tomorrow morning, more than 150 people will be running the grounds of this school, all in the memory of one man and his Chemis-tree.

"Right now we have about 160 people signed up to run, which is pretty impressive, considering we did it in such a short amount of time," organizer and 2006 graduate Omar Bohsali said. "And we have a lot of so many generous donations from everybody – they're really supportive."

Many alumni have banded together to create the Terry Moore Scholarship Fund, in hopes commemorating the "values and legacy of Terry Moore," according to the group's web site. The alums then decided to host a 5k run to raise money and bring out support for Moore, who taught chemistry at McLean until 2005, when he was diagnosed with malignant brain cancer.

"Well, we are actually going to be doing a scholarship fund, because that's our official purpose right now. We know that it's going to be to somebody who exemplifies Mr. Moore's values and characteristics – just the way he was. Because... he was always joyful. He was always really curious about science, he was always willing to help other people out. We're just looking for somebody who exemplifies those traits," Bohsali said.

The race is expected to bring many alums together, as well as several teachers and students currently at McLean.

"I think it's a nice effort. I think it's great that his students are motivated enough to undertake [this]," science teacher Dean Howarth said. "I filled out my registration form, and Mr. Jones has [too]. Most of the interest is going to be from alumni at this point," he added.

Race registration can still be filled out for 10 dollars tonight from 6 to 7 p.m. at 6805 Tennyson Drive. Participants are also welcome to register tomorrow at the race for 15 dollars, or just to come and show support and buy a race shirt 15 dollars.

"We just want to show the McLean community how much he meant to us," 2006 graduate and fellow organizer Trisha Buckley said. "He wanted [his students] to learn and enjoy learning. This is a huge project. We have about 7000 dollars already, which goes to show how much respect there is for him."

The race is named for one of Moore's projects in his chemistry classes, the "Chemis-tree."

"So, Chemis-tree. He would bring a Christmas tree, and we would make Christmas tree related ornaments. I mean, people made molecules and other just random things that really described Christmas," Bohsali said. "That's how we decided it be a Chemis-tree 5k race."

Some of the money will furnish a scholarship for one McLean senior with the traits of the beloved chemistry teacher. The rest of the money will benefit the Moore children, according to Buckley.

Even though Moore, who passed away in October, has not taught any current students, Bohsali is confident in his lasting memory.

"I walked by his room earlier. It was really nice. Well, it was really bittersweet," Bohsali said. " He's one of those guys that just, even though you're not his student anymore, you still remember him. Like, he taught us chemistry, but he taught us so much more than that – as clichéd as it sounds. He really did."