Last night hub’s and my running club, the South Side Runners held a Crazy Christmas 5K as the final run of 2015. There were no road closures, no chip timing, no age group awards and no clock. A volunteer stood at the finish and declared the first male and female to arrive the winners. It was coordinated by our club’s leader and founder and it was absolutely precious.
Joining this club is one of my favorite things from 2015. I have made new friends and I have a ton of new acquaintances. In fact, I rarely go out on a weekend long run and not have someone from the club either speak to me by name or at least say, “Hey, South Side.” The camraderie has been wonderful.
And so I chose not to run this one. Instead I manned the water station with my new friend, Amanda. It was my way of giving back to a group of people who have come to mean so much to hubs and me. I enjoyed seeing all of the costumed runners come by. Everyone thanked us for volunteering, even the uber-fast ones who didn’t take water.
After the last runner passed the water station, Amanda and I packed up and drove to the finish area. Before we got there, I could see a glow from the distance…
I learned the glow was the “finisher medals,” light-up Santa necklaces. Everyone, even the guys, wore them with pride. Amanda and I received them for volunteering. I told you this was precious!
There we waited with all of the runners and cheered for the subsequent finishers. Everyone, and I mean everyone stayed outside in the cold until the last runner completed the event. Then we all walked to Blue Coast Burrito for dinner, as is our custom after every weekly run.
One of my favorite finisher medals of all time.
I run most of my miles solo. I like going at my own pace and letting my mind wander. But on Thursday nights I enjoy the company of my South Side Runners. Last night reminded me why they are so special.
482gr8 