Jingle Bell Run

This morning was the Jingle Bell run. This is a fun run to do, as many people dress in elaborate costumes, such as snowflakes, Santa, or reindeer. Some groups dress as reindeer and rope themselves together to make a sleigh. The extent of my costume was a bright red running shirt.

I drove over and planned to meet my friend Leslie near the coffee stand outside Westlake mall, where the run begins. While I was circling looking for parking, Francesca called and said Jen was also planning to run, and we should all try to meet.

That turned out to be impossible. The start was more crowded than I ever remember, I and couldn't find anybody. It was so loud, when I called to leave Francesca a message, I could barely hear. I realized my wave already started to I made my way over and began towards the back. I had quite a bit of fun weaving in and out of crowds looking for anyone I knew.

About half a mile from the end, I saw Jen looking backwards. I caught up to her, expecting Francesca would be there. Instead, another friend Eve was running so I joined them and we finished about the same time. It turns out they just randomly saw each other at registration.

I forgot my heart rate monitor and watch, so my rough estimate was 32 minutes. Basically, you just ignore time on this run because of the crowds. There are three waves, but I think half the people don't seed themselves properly, which again is fine since if you really want to try for your 5K PR, you should pick another event.