Jingle Bell Run

Fall Racing – A Moving Target

September 4, 2015 by Michelle 8 Comments

When I saw that this week’s #FridayFive link-up topic was Fall Races, I was tempted to skip posting. Racing has been such a moving target for me, between injury and conflicts with my family schedule, that I’m almost hesitant to count any race as a sure thing at this point. But, if you’ve been around here for a bit then you also know how much I love a fall race….so here’s what I’m hoping for at the moment.

1) #StripAtNight

This is my one and only definite race…well it’s actually two because I’ll be doing the Remix Challenge (5K and Half). My husband and brother are running with me, and I just saw friends yesterday who confirmed they’re in! I’ve been waiting all year to get to a Rock ‘n’ Roll race as part of the Rock’n’Blog team – and, well c’mon it’s Vegas! And, speaking of the Rock’n’Blog team, we were just given special codes for a Vegas discount – use code RUNATTITUDE015LV and you can do either the half or the full for $145!

2) Still Rockin’ — Staying with the Rock ‘n’ Roll theme for a minute, I’m still hoping to get to RnR Philly at the end of October, but family conflicts are starting to crop up from all sides…keep my fingers crossed. But, if schedules don’t work, then I’ll be looking at finishing up my 3-race Tour Pass by heading to San Antonio for #RnRSA the first week of December.

3) Tufts 10K for Women is one of my favorite Boston races. It’s always held on Columbus Day, which means it could potentially come in conflict with the boys’ sports schedules/tournaments – it’s happened before, but if I’m free this is always a great race!

4) Canton Fall Classic is another local favorite – I usually run the 5K and my husband J runs the 10K. My son is thinking about running it this year…so once again as long as schedules don’t collide, this could be a family race.

5) Jingle Bell Run — OK this one may technically be a “winter” race as some years it falls on the weekend before Christmas. As you can see from the picture of my brother and I on race morning, this one’s all for the costumes and post-race beer fest. (And, yes that is a giant ball of mistletoe on his hat!) 🙂

Do you find your race schedule is pretty well set or is it a moving target?

(As part of the Rock’n’Blog team, I receive a 3-race Tour Pass. If you want to add a RnR race to your fall schedule, don’t forget to use my code on my sidebar for a discount (or the code above for Vegas!)

I’m linking up with Courtney, Mar, and Cynthia – be sure to stop by to check out where they’ll be racing this fall!

Filed Under: #RocknBlog, #StripAtNight, Canton Fall Classic, fall racing, family running, Friday Five, Jingle Bell Run, RnRPhilly

Jingle Bell Run Recap

December 24, 2012 by Michelle 7 Comments

Last Sunday I wrapped up my 2012 racing season with the always fun Jingle Bell Run! This time I got to run it with my brother — it was his first 5k and I was so psyched to run it with him!

I had run this race last year with J and my friend E and I swear we were practically the only ones not dressed in some form of costume. Well, after telling my brother about the range of outfits from last year, he decided if he was going to to do this he had to get into the spirit of it. During the week leading up to the run, as I heard about his planned race outfit, I knew I’d have to get in on the act. So with the help of my trusty adviser (aka my 7 year-old) and a trip to Target, I put together a respectable showing 🙂

(These pictures don’t really do our outfits justice. You can’t see my light-up bracelets or the sparkle that covered my Santa hat. And, yes that is a giant ball of mistletoe on my brother’s hat – it was a big hit along with his shirt that said “What happens under the mistletoe stays under the mistletoe”)

The race itself once again did not disappoint – it was a lively group with some really creative costumes! My brother had said his goal was to just “finish under my own power” and to have fun doing it. We had a good time laughing at the sights, and it was fun to just go out and run without any concern for time.


Medal/Bottle Opener!

All -in-all a great day and best of all my brother’s talking about his next race!

Filed Under: family running, Jingle Bell Run, race report

Jingle Bell Run Race Recap

December 20, 2011 by Michelle 11 Comments

On Sunday, I ran the Jingle Bell Run with my husband J and friend E. I had wanted to run this last year but was injured — so glad I got to this year! This race was fun from start to finish!

It was a balmy 23 degrees when we got to the race so we hung in the car for as long as we could before heading over to the starting area. We made a quick pit stop, and I saw one of my favorite costumes of the day – a group of 6 guys with huge inflatable reindeer heads tethered together “pulling” another guy dressed as Santa with a cardboard sleigh. They were guided by two women dressed like elves. And yes, they ran that way! Unfortunately, my camera was not loving the cold weather and failed on me so I didn’t get any pictures of them or some of the other fun costumes we saw along the way. E and I agreed we were going to have to be much for festive in our outfits next year ~ we also made a pact that we better beat the reindeer 🙂

E & I post-race and ready for a beer

The 3 of us ran together for the first half mile or so, then J headed off – he had a goal to hit 30 mins. E wanted me to just run and she was going to just try to hang with me and keep me in sight. I had no goal except to have fun…I even left my Garmin at home! It was a nice course with some rolling hills. I settled into a nice comfortable pace and enjoyed the sights. This race went by so fast – before I knew it we crested the last hill, turned the corner and could see a great down hill stretch to the finish.

There was a huge bottle neck at the finish as many people just came to a dead stop. The bottleneck continued as runners moved down the street in search of water and medals – this was my one complaint about the race, it was very disorganized at the finish! E, J and I re-grouped – J hit his goal of 30 minutes and E got a big PR in only her 2nd 5k!

Now it was time to celebrate. There were at least a dozen local pubs sponsoring the race, (did I mention the race medal was a bottle opener!) so of course a post-race beer (or 2) was necessary!

Definitely a fun race and one to keep on the schedule for next year!