JINGLE BELL RUN (Ionia - 2019 - 5K)
115 Mile Drive
The 2019 Ionia Jingle Bell Run was very well organized and so much fun! I love costume runs. I will be honest, since I have always said I don’t use my costumes twice. I used the Bee Thankful Bee again, however, I made changes to it. I made a new sign that said, “Bee Merry.” I added twinkling Christmas lights on top the leaf base with a 12 inch tall snowman that I decorated. I put garland around the neck of the bee and a puffy Santa hat with the antennae poking through. It looked very festive when it was done. I spent a little bit more at Hobby Lobby to accomplish the look. I also put in another two hours of costume production time. The change made me less upset about using it again. The truth is, I put so much time into the bee that I probably shouldn’t feel as though I have to keep it to one run. That’s just a personal thing of mine when it comes to The Detroit Turkey Trot.
When the race director sent out his pre-run information email I noticed the costume contest was being held after all participants finished. I liked that but I was concerned. I emailed him back and told him my costume was not one I could easily run in and asked if it was okay to put it on after. When I got clearance from him to do that I decided to leave it in the car until I finished running. I didn’t wear it at the before-run mingle. I felt like Clark Kent before we started with a hidden identity. I got to admire all the amazing costumes that came and take pictures of them. A little boy and his family did a themed Christmas costume with a homemade lighted sleigh!! My friend Amy was a gorgeous snow princess!!! There was an awesome homemade Christmas tree and a huge string light group!! You could tell their string was homemade which made it all the more awesome. They did a wonderful job using buckets and lights! I instantly pinned Amy’s snow princess and the light string group as winners (trying to think as a judge), but that left a third place spot available. I thought the homemade sleigh was pretty amazing. I saw Barb and Rusty looking festive as always. Rusty is very handsome in costumes.
The course was a cool start through the city followed by a cross over the amazing “Welcome to Ionia” bridge over M66. We went down a long beautiful blacktop trail. The turnaround points for the 5K and 1.5 mile were very clearly marked (see my pictures) and had volunteers in addition to the arrows telling us to turn around. I was very tired during this run but managed to place second in my age group. I got an awesome reindeer medal! The finish line was right next to Ionia’s city Christmas tree which they placed in the middle of Main Street. It was a very unique and cool place for a huge tree. Jason and the kids found a great local donut shop and ended up bringing home 30 small donuts for $12! We had way too many donuts.
The post-race facility was not the cleanest. The bathrooms were in need of a deep cleaning and during my stretching I really saw the grime that had accumulated on the walls and floor in the banquet hall. The costume contest was judged by applause. I do not like applause judging. It can lead to mini popularity contests and not give an accurate depiction of the best costumes. I’ve seen it happen many times. Amy and I saw it happen at Screaming Banshee in Potterville. At least The Wizard of Oz family got one of the top spots there. Even though they used applause, I did agree with the choices Ionia made for costume winners. I was worried people wouldn’t be approving that I did not run in my bee costume. I ended up wearing it for 35 minutes after the run. I did my run time and more in the heavy hot felt dome. I am so glad Amy and the light strand were winners!! They were incredibly deserving. I was totally thrilled to walk out with $100 cash. It was a wonderful prize. The money paid back my race fee, our car gas, additional Christmas bee costume supplies and gave us one of the best Logan Steakhouse lunches we have ever had in Grand Rapids. The steak was amazing, medium cooked to perfection.
Things I take from the 2019 Ionia Jingle Bell Run are:
- The amazing band that played for us at the registration building after we finished the run. (See my video of them below). I loved listening to them.
- Humility in knowing my own limits. I passed a duo of cute reindeer in the first mile. In the last half mile one of them passed me. I am not one to be competitive. I felt a competitive presence from the lady, but I just kept my pace. It would have made me sick to ramp up my speed, even though it wasn’t a long stretch to the finish. You have to know your own limits. I was very happy with my time. I got second and she took first. I am always excited if I end up placing, especially in runs without finisher medals.
- $100 cash!!! AMAZING!! WHAT RUN DOES THIS!?!?! None that I know of besides Ionia.
- Seeing Amy and Barb my northwest running friends! Ionia has a very cool historic downtown with a bunch of amazing shops. The Grand River runs through town next to their state fair grounds. There are a lot of great things in Ionia and I love “Ionia squared” (The city of Ionia in Ionia county) ^_^
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