Holiday Races & Memorable Runs

Over the years as a runner, I've participated in my fair share of races - from themed runs to those through the mud and everything in between! However, my favorite types of races have always been based around a Christmas theme. Throw a few Christmas lights and a Santa hat in there and I'm game! 

For today's Friday Five, I'm taking a walk down memory lane to share with you a few holiday races, all of which were definitely memorable for me!

#1 Mickey's Jingle Jungle 5K

In 2014, my husband and I visited WDW during the Wine & Dine Half Marathon weekend and as part of our trip, we participated in Mickey's Jingle Jungle 5K. I was so excited to run this one through Animal Kingdom and it did not disappoint! We had a blast!

#2 Santa's Wonderland 5K

...also known as the race that wasn't...

Out of all my Christmas themed races, the Santa's Wonderland 5K is definitely the most memorable. I traveled to College Station, TX with my sister in law and some friends to participate in what sounded like an amazing 5K through a wonderland of Christmas lights. Well, the great monsoon of 2014 decided to take place that evening and the race was postponed to the following day. We were already almost there when the decision was made to delay the race and we weren't spending the night. So, we changed into our running outfits and made the most of it....we had a ball in the rain! Talk about making lemonade out of lemons!

#3 Santa Hustle 5K
 

Last year, I planned to run the Santa Hustle Half Marathon in Galveston, TX with my sister in law and friends. As it turned out, I wasn't able to participate in the half marathon due to pregnancy issues, so I did the Santa Hustle 5K instead. The 5K was exactly like a shortened version of the half - complete with cookies and candy on the course! I had a great time and would definitely do this race again in the future if given the opportunity! 

#4 Reindeer Run 5K

In 2015, I participated in the Reindeer Run 5K which took place throughout Sea World park in Orlando! I LOVED seeing the park from this angle and really enjoyed participating in this race with my friend Melissa! I also happened to be pregnant for this one! This race really reminded me of a runDisney event with the large amount of photo ops along the course and the fun atmosphere! (I guess it helped that this race was also put on by Track Shack!)

#5 Santa Hustle Half Marathon

Last but certainly not least is the Santa Hustle Half Marathon in Galveston, Texas. Despite the ridiculous weather this year, I really enjoy this race series and would love to give this one a try again. The medal is beautiful and sparkly, too!

That's all for my favorite holiday races! I've sure had a lot of fun running these and look forward to more the in the future! 

Have a great weekend and a fabulous Christmas!  

Check out Running on Happy & Fairytales and Fitness for more on the Friday Five!

The 5K That…Wasn’t. (FitMas Giveaway #1)

Happy December! I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! It’s officially the Christmas season, my favorite time of the year!  I’m excited to announce a special Christmas treat for you guys! In the weeks leading up to Christmas, I am going to host a few giveaways – one every week through the week of Christmas (that’s four giveaways total).

Today’s giveaway will follow this post, so stay tuned to find out what it’s all about – it’s a good one, you won’t want to miss it!

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Several weeks ago, I travelled to College Station, Texas with my sister-in-law and a few friends to participate in Santa’s Wonderland 5K and Fun Run.

We knew the weather forecast for the evening was TERRIBLE (rainy, wind, strong thunderstorms), AND we knew the possibility of the race being postponed to Sunday evening per the race directors emails prior to race day.

We were driving 3+ hours out of town for this event and weren’t staying overnight – plus, running the race on Sunday night would have put us home incredibly late, then up for work the following day – no way.



Instead, we decided to adopt my “When Life Hands You Rain, Play In It” philosophy, and that’s exactly what we did!

The monsoon rain began as we neared College Station. The weather was so crazy, Kayla’s GPS thought we were driving through the Texas A&M Golf Course!



We were about 2 hours out from College Station when the official word was made about the race being postponed to Sunday evening. We were bummed but instead of letting the rain get us down, we made the decision to continue driving and make the best of the situation, no matter what.



We finally made it!

My first impression on entering Santa’s Wonderland was literally “WOW!”…and that was just the gift shop!

For starters, EVERYONE was super nice….like Disney World nice. I couldn’t get over how overly kind and accommodating (almost) all of the workers were.



After picking up our shirts and race packets, we changed into our race “outfits” (we had shirts especially made for this race) and that’s when all the fun began!

Our first task was to take a picture with Santa!



Notice that we are all “Kayla’s Children”!



I love the way our picture turned out!



We also said a quick “hello” to Rudolph :)



The workers inside Santa’s Wonderland loved our outfits and were all so sympathetic about the weather/the fact that the race was postponed.



After taking every combination of photos available inside the gift shop, we decided to try our luck on the hay ride. When we first arrived to pick up our packets, we were told that 5K participants could receive 1/2 off the price of the hayride per the Race Texas workers. We didn’t pre-purchase tickets and looking back, I’m so glad we didn’t.

You see, the entire point of this race was to run through Santa’s Wonderland Christmas light display. Me + millions of Christmas lights (think Osborne Lights level here) = a very happy Karen and my entire reason for driving 3+ hours for a 5K. Since the race was postponed, our chances of running through the lights was taken away. They also weren’t allowing anyone to drive through the display area in their personal vehicles because of the crazy rain/weather. Basically, a hayride was our only option to see the lights.



Whomp Whomp. Crazy rain. It literally felt like the Wine & Dine Half ALL over again!

As we attempted to purchase 1/2 price hayride tickets, we were told no – apparently we were given false information about runners receiving discounted tickets for the hayride. When questioned who else we could speak with, we were told “I’m it”.
Not taking no for an answer, one of the girls in our group sought out a manager on her own. Again, let me reiterate…(almost) everyone at Santa’s Wonderland was AMAZING and incredibly helpful and really helped us have a great time despite the circumstances.

We found a manager and explained our situation. Basically, this is how I felt – We drove for 3+ hours to run a 5K that we paid $60 to run. No, the rain was not Santa’s Wonderland’s fault. However, we were not able to make Sunday night’s event and deferment to next year’s event wasn’t being offered. So basically, we drove 3+ hours and paid $60 to receive a t-shirt and have the opportunity to enter few gift shops where we could spend more money on Christmas trinkets and gifts if we wanted to do so. Oh, and if we wanted to see the lights that we already paid to see, we could pay an additional fee to ride a hayride and see them.

Needless to say, the manager was super understanding and told us to stay put so he could work on solving our problem right away.



While everyone else stayed put, I ventured off in search of a cup of coffee! I loved this deal – for a set fee, I purchased a mug and received free refills of coffee all night long! Score!




Yummy treats!



Before long, we were granted four hayride tickets at no cost! We couldn’t believe it and were so grateful for the manager’s help!




One of my favorite part of the lights display was the fact that festive music was piped in throughout the whole route!



Although it rained on us the entire time, we managed to enjoy ourselves and laughed through most of the 25 minute hayride!



I could honestly say I’d never ridden a hay ride through a large Christmas lights display in the pouring rain before! It’s been added to and crossed off my bucket list all at the same time!




The lights were beautiful – I would definitely go again to see them on a non-rainy day!



Wouldn’t you know – as soon as we were finished with the hayride, it stopped raining (of course).



THIS guy is awesome! He’s the one who helped us out with the hayride situation and we stopped to thank him as soon as the hayride was over!



We enjoyed a bit of the nighttime musical entertainment and bonfire before saying goodnight.



Thanks so much, Race Texas and Santa’s Wonderland for helping us have a great time that night, despite the circumstances! I’ll definitely visit again and hope to run Santa’s Wonderland 5K (for real this time) one day soon!



Now for the fun part – week #1’s giveaway!

Like the shirts we wore for this event? Interested in a shirt of your own? Well, here’s your chance!

One lucky winner will receive:

• “He sees you when you’re running, he knows when you lift weights” – 1 dry fit shirt
• Size Medium (8-10) – although I found that it fits small (Only a size medium is available)
  

Enter through Rafflecopter below. This giveaway will run for one week’s time and will end next Sunday evening.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Merry Christmas and good luck!

Have you ever had a race cancelled or postponed due to rain?