Race #11/12 - Jingle Bell Walk/Run

For us 5Ks we go laughing all the way...

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Tis the season for festive fun runs, and the metro area is full of holiday cheer. There are turkey trots and jingle bell walks, polar bear swims and holiday runs. There are 5Ks with raffles for frozen turkeys, 12Ks that reward finishers with glasses of hot buttered rum, and 4-milers that end with candy canes. There are Santa hats, elf ears, and even gingerbread man costumes, and The Grinch shows up every year. There is usually a team of reindeer, and Santa’s always there. It’s a sea of red and green and festive fun.

What a wonderful race to kick off the holiday season the first weekend of every December. On this annual holiday tradition, the Jingle Bell 5Kers tied on bells and showed off their elf costumes, reindeer antlers, and Santa hats before taking off running/walking to raise funds and awareness for the Arthritis Foundation, beginning from the Trade Center and heading down Front Avenue towards the Burnside Bridge. We took a quick turn near Burnside into NW Portland, turned around and headed back on Front Avenue before heading back to the World Trade Center.

We got into the spirit this holiday season at the Arthritis Foundation's Jingle Bell Run/Walk for Arthritis. We were just a few of the thousands of runners and walkers who hit the nation's pavements, pathways and parks this winter to fight arthritis, the nation's most common cause of disability. The Portland Jingle Bell Run/Walk, raises funds for critical arthritis research and programs! This year the aim was to raise even more awareness and more money than ever before to improve the lives of the 2.1 million adults and 9,000 children with arthritis in Oregon and Washington. Last year's Jingle Bell Run and Walk raised more than $150,000 in Portland and had more than 4,000 participants. The 2013 Jingle Bell Run/Walk saw 3500 participants and raised $165,000. The 130 Jingle Bell Run and Walks for Arthritis nationwide raise more than $7 million each year.

Kriss and I did the Turkey Dash 10 days ago and we thought 28 degrees was cold at 8 a.m. Well, that was nothing. At race time today, we were a frigid 17 degrees. I was SO cold I even wore longjohns and a felt elf costume. There came a point where we were so cold, we could feel nothing. We completed the race in about 55 minutes, with an average of a 17:05 mile. I would have loved a better time but considering the bitter cold and the Achilles issues, I cannot complain too much. Two years ago this very day, I was having my first total knee replacement.  Who would have thought only two years and another knee replacement later, I would be walking 5Ks.  I truly have come a long way, baby!

I have to give a shout out of thanks to Maria and Brianna for coming back and walking with me. They could have finished in a better time but came back and walked with me. I appreciate it!