Jingle Bell run 2008

It was a chilly 6:30 am December morning in Barrie when 40 runners (and non-runners) boarded the school bus bound for the first ever Jingle Bell run. The organizers goal was to get 1500+ people to run 5km in Santa suits, so the race entry fee included your very own Santa suit as well as a real breakfast. We like to call it the Santa Suit run and it was the first one to be held in Canada.

Talk about fun. From the moment the gang arrived on time (including "Steen the Runner" even if he was at the wrong meeting point - thank goodness for cell phones) at the Spirit Catcher parking lot it was all giggles and excitment. Part way through our trip, when everyone was getting back on the bus after a bladder break, the sun came up. That's when the fun stepped up a notch. Everyone started to try on their Santa suits. This is not as easy as it sounds considering it was a moving child sized school bus filled with grown ups . . . or should I say adults because dressing up in a Santa suit makes you feel like a kid getting ready for Halloween. By the time everyone made the necessary adjustments and personailzed adournments to the generously sized Santa suits we were pulling into downtown Burlington. We knew we were in the right place by the growing number of Santa sightings on every street corner.

We gathered everyone off of the bus for a quick group photo opportunity. The weather was warm (a relative comparison to Barrie) and sunny. Barely any snow on the ground anywhere. Fantastic conditions for a morning 5 km run. Standing at the start line all you can see is red and white Santa Clauses. Everyone looks alike and are in the same good spirits. You cross the start line and before you know it there's the finish line. Done . . . just like Christmas morning, almost. Breakfast was an amazing meal and not you standard post race grub. Oh no . . . there were scambled eggs, bacon, sausages, hash browns , buns and coffee (lots of coffee). We waddled back the bus and recounted the days events. When we got back to Barrie someone commented that we had just been gone for 8 hours and spent 3 hours of those hours on a bus, all just to run a 5 km race . . . and it was worth ever moment of it. See everyone next year . . . and bring a friend! For a video of the event go to http://v-card.ca/video/VRPro/index.html

Terry From Barrie!