Ahh! The 2015 Grand Rapids Jingle Bell Run was so much fun! I raised $115, too! I’ve never fundraised for a race before. Go team drenergize! Wally and I ran it as our first mother runner plus baby brown bear 5k and it was so sweet. Not too bad of pace, either!
Anyway, I don’t have a lot of time to write a full review (Wally turned one year old and did not start magically sleeping any better, so mommy is pretty tired today), but it was such a great run. The weather was decent, the route was different than some other typical 5ks, parking was a breeze, and the crowd was nice and festive.
Wally and I ran this as our first race together. He’s been my cheering section plenty of times, and come on training runs with me all summer, but we just didn’t do a short enough race that allowed strollers. I celebrated the occasion by decorating our jogging stroller with garland and Christmas lights! There are lots of lights that are battery operated nowadays. Easy as pie.
Plus, Wally wore his brown bear snow suit. I mean, how many times do I really get to dress him up like a bear? Not enough! And the spectators loved it. He was happy the whole time, too. Glad we brought extra blankets for him because it’s not so warm when you’re not running. But he had a blast.
This will definitely be a race tradition. Word on the street is that their race for 2016 will be December 3! Check out their Facebook page for pics.
