Two More Christmas Runs

I’m not usually one for the silly ritualistic impulses that grab many people during the holidays, maybe because I don’t need holidays to have silly ritualistic impulses, but I do have a thing for holiday runs.

I just came off of a two-race Thanksgiving holiday padded with some hiking (to scope out more running trails — that’s really all hiking is to runners, a reconnaissance trip), and now I’m gearing up for a two-race, potentially three-race, Christmas holiday.

I signed up for two that intrigued me more than the plethora of other events available in Los Angeles, and the two happened to be on the same weekend, back to back. Hold on to your reindeers people!

The Saturday race is the “flat and fast” Santa Monica-Venice Christmas Run, which I honestly chose because I couldn’t stop staring at the design on the postcard flyer. This is a pure “schwag potential” run for me, with the Venice Boardwalk locale as icing on the cake. Their t-shirt, according to their site is a “custom made, high quality, long sleeve, environmentally sensitive shirt,” which I’m sure will give me enough karma points to balance out my superficial reasons for running this race. It is also touted as “L.A.’s Largest Running Event,” so it may be crowded. The races come in 10K, 5K, and “Kid” distances and will happen this Saturday, Dec. 12 at the Venice Boardwalk.

The Sunday race, the 9th Annual Say No to Drugs Race Classic, is actually more of a charity-focused run that happens to be held around the holidays, but I chose it because it’s got something that many other holiday races cannot boast — a course on the Universal Studios backlot! So instead of taking the tram around to see Jaws jumping out at you or Norman Bates creeping around the Psycho house, you can be an even slower target by running by it all. This was also a good opportunity for me to check off another theme park I’ve run through this year, the first being Disneyland during their Half Marathon. The 5K/10K Run and the 5K walk begin at 7:30 this Sunday, Dec. 13 at Universal Studios Backlot.

So there you have it. Two races, with plenty of time to spare to run the rest of them this Christmas holiday season, this one in particular. Hope to see you there!