Jingle Bell Run – 24th Annual

Um… it wasn’t in Wallingford… it was in icy cold downtown Seattle, starting and ending next to Macy’s and Nordstrom, at Westlake Park. I ran with a slight fever/​common cold symtoms… time was about 27 minutes… not bad considering all the car exhaust from running in the I-​5 express lanes. The cold air wasn’t too bad, but took a while to get used to. I was a bit numb. I think it was about 30 degrees. I didn’t hurl though… but if I had to, it wouldn’t have been on the course. Why do people eat inappropriately before running? It’s supposed to be a fun run, not a «puke puddles obstacle course.» And if you puke, your good time is over! No fun for you! So, don’t stuff your face before running. There was more than a few patches I had to navigate around. Still, it was a good time and I’ll probably be back next year. Arthritis is a terrible disease. Hopefully, there will be a cure some day.

I’m not quite sure how I made the leap from sitting on my couch, in my pajamas, eating chicken fingers to signing up for a 5k in the middle of December, but I did. Saying I trained for this, couldn’t be farther from the truth. Honestly, I gave more thought to what I was going to WEAR during the race rather than how I was actually going to RUN the race. Despite my lack of training, despite the bitter cold temperatures, despite the fact that I got only a few hours of sleep before the big day due to a Christmas party and a birthday party, despite all this, I managed to run the entire race (save walking by an ice patch) and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Not only did team Unilocal raise a big ol’ chunk of moula for a noteworthy charity, but I did something I really never envisioned myself doing (and I’m already scouring the internet for more runs).
Thanks to Don for his awesome organization skills and creative ideas. Thanks to Katie for spending tons of time customizing our Unilocal shirts. And thanks to everyone else for supporting us!

Loved it! holla…
Did I mention that there was free samples and awesome people? Plus– I got my wo in before 11am leaving me free to do things like eat a cinnamon roll from Cinnamon Works… since it was so close to the race.

What a great race day huh?
Loved all the pictures of everyone by Dan and Ron!
Great set up of the whole event by Don and Katie. Big props to Katie and Charlie who was watching the tent.
Thanks to Xav and Ron for being great eating partners at Pike Place Chowder.
I thought that my time was 48 minutes. But I forget, that time had been going on since 8:50, and we didn’t start until 9, so I actually did that in 38 minutes, which I was happy for.
Everything was great, if I had one minor nit pick, it was that the bananas were not ripe enough, I saw many bananas in the garbage, because when you tried to peel the banana, all you got was the skin off. It was kind of annoying, but it was great day anyways!

Great times! I’m so proud of our team for raising so much money in such fantastically creative ways, and the other Unilocalers who weren’t on the team but were so supportive of our team.
I wish there’d been a little less ice on that downward slope before the on-​ramp, I saw lots of people slipping and sliding there, but still it was fun. The organizers for the run seemed on-​spot and nothing at all was chaotic, which can easily happen with that many people. And there were runners/​walkers of all ages and fitness, from little kids to little old ladies. Did I mention free starbucks coffee, free hand warmers, free shirts, free water, free pens, free LOTS OF STUFF!
What a great spirit and positive feel you could feel in that crowd, honestly. I usually laugh at people who say cheesy stuff like that, but how can you deny how awesome it is to run in a tunnel with thousands of people you don’t know, and have everyone sing «Jingle Bells» together at the top of their voice, while jogging down the freeway? Great feeling.
Go Team Unilocal!You Rock!

Invigorating! Now I see the draw of the Polar Bear Plunge. Anyone want to do that next year? No? Self?
They said at the starting line that if this was anyone’s first Jingle Bell Run, it would be one they’d never forget. Well, I can understand that. It was so fun to be on this team, raise a bunch of money for an extremely worthy cause, then dress up in Christmas Finery and run like maniacs along the freeway.
Can’t wait to do it again next year!

Jingle, jingle, jingle…
Run, run, run…
Icy, icy, icy…
*I would really like to run faster but don’t want to fall on my ass*
Jingle, jing…
Oh, I’m done.
27 minutes. \m/​
(Don L. you rule for actually organizing it this year. Katie, you rule for ironing all our names on the back of our shirts so we could be UBER Unilocal DORKS, Charlie you rule cause you froze your ass off for love… awwwww.)

In Portland, my warm up was running around the block 9 times waiting for a vale to get my car.
For Seattle, it was de-​icing Don’s car at 7am…
My 2^nd 5k in as many weeks, I’m so glad i did this one too. Getting to be «Über Unilocal Dorks» along with all of you was awesome!
Finishing a much hillier, crowded and icier course in the same time as the flat, easy Portland, personally rewarding for sure!
Singing «Jingle Bells» at the top of your lungs with hundreds of other people upon entering the Express Lanes is something everyone should do at least once, talk about fun motivation!
Thanks so much (again, cause is there ever too much? no) to Don for manning up as Team Captain and solidifying his event planning and crazy fundraising idea skills in all our minds!
To Katie and Charlie for the shirts, the support, and freezing their butts off in the name of Unilocal,massive kudos!
See you all next year!
(oh, and Alli, Don and I are doing the Polar Bear Plunge following a 5k in a few weeks, come join us! ;-))

Who knew that being part of the Seattle Unilocal Team that raised nearly $ 4,000 could be so fun?
Raising money for charity is easy when you volunteer to be auctioned off as part of the fundraiser. Now I’m going to be“forced” to visit the Lusty Lady (the local Seattle strip club) by the winning bidder! (you’re the best Xav!)
The next week after the auction we had a karaōke fundraiser which then we had to sing some Rick Astley
in the name of charity!
And then then the day of the race a mass of Unilocalers
gathered and with the Seattle Unilocal Help Team Leader, Don L.
I was forced to dress up in a dwarf elf costume and had to play a game of pinch and squeal
and take numerous photos with awesome Unilocalers
Our fearless Unilocal Ambassador Katie S. even made us our own customized Unilocal shirts.
Just like last year it snowed. But it was much colder this year had some ice and there were some slips and falls but overall it was a great run! If you do the Jingle Run and want to run always start in the front of the waves. Last year we started in the rear and I could barely keep up a slow job for a few minutes before we had to stop for walkers. This year I got to job a good portion of it though due a costume malfunction a registered runner named «Dfens No Pants» I will have to wait until next year to outrun Usain Bolt.
I’ve done a good number of running and volunteering in races and the Jingle was won one of the better races I’ve seen. There were plenty of booths giving away handouts. There as a ton of port a potty’s lining the street so you wouldn’t have to nature pee it in the middle of downtown. Overall it’s a great race for a great cause and I really encourage everyone to be part of the next year whether you join the running, walking or cheering section.
This was so much fun that when it ended I started to cry
Of course you can always count on Unilocal to make anything fun so I’ll be looking forward to the next race in 2009!