Ho Ho Hoping this 5K is Enough…

…to burn off all those peppermint cookies I ate over the holidays!

Last year (which in this post means 2014 😛 ) I ran the Jingle Jog 5K, and I loved it so much that I signed up to run it again!

This event comes with a Santa suit for every participant, and when I ran it last year I wore the whole ensemble (not the beard though, it tickled 🙂 ). Since the suit was made of felt and December in South Florida can still bring 90 degree temps, for this run I decided to chop the sleeves off the jacket and run in that and the pants…

…but then the entire crotch of the pants disintegrated. I’m fun, but I’m not willing to be THAT fun during a race! 😀

There’s no doubt you’re in the right place at this event. I just love that no matter where you look, there’s a sea of Santas.

Then there are the costumes! My friend Carolyn ran the entire 5K with a reindeer hobby horse. (She’s the one who ran the St. Patrick’s Day 4-miler in a beer hat. 😀 )

This guy ran in a gathered Christmas tree skirt:

And this guy’s dog was dressed up as a reindeer, with a little stuffed Santa hanging on for dear life:

But my favorite was the guy dressed up as a snowman from head to toe. My friend Jen pointed him out as he passed us, and I ran to catch up with him so I could get a picture from the front too. 🙂

There weren’t any carolers along the route this time, but we did have Santa – the REAL Santa – drive by to cheer us on!

This run offered free mimosas to finishers, so I passed my free beer ticket to someone and finally enjoyed a drink I love! I think more races need to start offering free mimosas… or Starbucks frappuccinos… or shoot, while I’m dreaming, why not frozen cokes? 😀

It was a ton of fun, and I absolutely LOVE my Christmas tree medal! Of course, as soon as it was over I went home to eat more of those cookies. Hey, I earned it! 😉