2014 Jingle Bell All the Way 5K Race Recap

“Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way. Oh, what fun is to… run down Pennsylvania Avenue….”

This past weekend I participated in the Jingle Bell All the Way 5K. Managed by Pacers (they also run the St. Patricks Day 8K, the GW Parkway 10 Miler, and the S.O.M.E Trot for Hunger 5k races). Typically this race is a 8K, but this year it was shorten to a 5K due to construction.

Packet Pickup

Like last week’s Trot for Hunger 5K, packet pickup was available at a few of their running stores the week of the race and also Sunday morning.

I was given my bib, long sleeved tech shirt, and some bells for my shoes. There was a little bit of a line because I went after work, but not too bad.

Race Goals (“A” least probable and “C” most probable)

I decided not to have goals for this race. It was going to be a fun run for me. I also had a training session the day before so I knew I would be sore.

Jingle Bell All the Way 5K

I usually run/walk to the start for DC races that begin downtown. This morning I slept in a little later and took a cab down (it was a bit cold). I was able to see Prianka and Colleen before the start.

Image: Courtesy of Prianka

Picture of Freedom Plaza. Fun costumes, right?

Free photo booth – Pacers will post the pictures online.

Picture before the start. I know… not too festive. I was wearing green knee high socks.

Does the course looks familiar? The out and back route is very similar to last week’s Trot. The only difference is that there is less Independence Avenue and we loop close to the Capitol.

We self assigned ourselves into the corrals. I started in the corral based on my finish time from last week and happened to be standing next to Deborah. It was so nice to meet her! At 9:00AM we were a go and you could hear the bells jingling. Here is a picture of the U.S Capitol building near mile 2. If you look closely you can see the Christmas tree.

I felt I was going the same pace as last week… did this mean I was going three-peat with the same time?!

Well… turns out I finished with a time of 34:50, about 2 slower from last week even though it felt I gave the same effort. I think Julie also had a similar experience. Haha oh well… three peat it was not 🙂

Final Thoughts

I like the 9:00AM start – some time to warm up a bit.
There were approximately 5,000 runners and I didn’t have an issue weaving in/out (although some people flew by me ha).
I never participated in this race, so it was fun to see all the costumes.
My iPod shuffle ran out of battery 30 seconds into the 5K, so it was nice hearing the sound of the bells as people ran.
There was a waterstop at the halfway mark and also post race food and drinks (even hot chocolate).
Free pictures are always fun!
Always loads of people participating – bound to run into someone you know. Mar, Nevie and Chaitali also ran!
Convenient packet pickup and location.

I would definitely run this race again – I hope 2015 is the return of the 8K!

After the 5K I met up with some of Oiselle ladies for brunch. Thought this postcard was cute and appropriate. I had the most delicious spinach and goat cheese frittata.