The Arthritis Foundation’s Jingle Bell Run is a longtime favorite race in the Chicago circuit and an original festive race for charity. There are more than 100 types of arthritis, but no cures yet. The Arthritis Foundation has chapters Nationwide and has been around for 70 years. This year’s fundraising efforts reached $70,188 The race starts and ends at the Chicago History Museum for the 5K run and the 1 mile walk, the route takes you north on the inner lakefront path along the Lincoln Park Zoo. This time of the year of the off season for many people in the Midwest, but Chicago runners are a special kind of species (I called them dedicated and determined). But in all honestly, sometimes we all need a push and these type of festive theme races can be a great incentive to get us out the door during the dark winter months.
This race is a true family affair and great for children. The pre/post races activities included games, raffles, and face painting booth. This is a unique charity run in which 100% of the registration fee and fundraising goes to support the Arthritis Foundation. To make things even more interesting, the race features a contest for the best Holiday costume, there were many adults and kids dressed up in creative designs from Elves to reindeers, and Santa Claus.
Saturday morning was a chilly day here in Chicago, with temps in the low 20’s at the start of the race. The Chicago History museum opened up his doors for runners and their families which was a great place to stay warm before going outside and run. This is a small race with about 300 participants perfect for first time runners. I met a middle age woman who admittedly shared how nervous she was, this was her first 5K. I helped her put on her bib and gave her a few pointers about the course. One of my favorite parts of living in the city by the lake in the Lincoln Park neighborhood is the people. The Lincoln Park running community is friendly and welcoming, it’s great to see familiar faces at this local races.
Winter running is not for everyone and it definitely adds to the challenge. I felt lucky we did not get any snow over the weekend, the only factor was the cold weather and the wind. A fun fact for those of you considering winter running, research shows that running in cold weather helps improve one’s performance.
The post-race included delicious bagels, holiday cookies, fruit, and coffee. The Arthritis foundation acknowledged the 2019 honorees including Sydney Haworth (Youth Honoree), Kelsey Hammersmark (Adult Honoree), and Dr. Vasili Karas (Medical Honoree).
Congrats to everyone who came out to support this event!
The winners:
1. Jordan Marchewka 17:42
2. Julian Rockwood 18:04
3. Dan Bailey 19:47
Female:
1. Jenna Marchewka 20:41
2. Judy May 21:08
3. Daniela Munoz 21:17
