More than any other time of year, the Christmas holiday is all about tradition for many. Families get together, have customs for opening gifts, worshipping, and enjoying meals.
For many runners, there are traditions revolving around the sport we love as well. For the runners in my club, that means the Sunday before Christmas we go on an easy run through some of the neighborhoods with lots of lighting displays. Appropriately enough, we call it the Holiday lights run.
It seems to be timed perfectly for a time when many of us are stressed out, trying to get everything ready for Christmas. The gifts, the meals, the decorating all seem to require more time than the days hold.
So it's nice to put it all aside for a few hours to just enjoy a run with friends, and some laughs afterward. We run at a friendly, conversational pace, easy enough so that everyone can stay together.
Many of the laughs are provided by the other tradition, the 'ugly sweater' contest. This is hardly an original concept. But its a fun one for sure. It seems like most everyone has an old, out of style sweater in their drawer that they can't seem to part with.
For me, it's not a traditional Christmas sweater. But I do have an old Bears/Ditka style sweater that, given the team's ugly loss that day, qualifies as an ugly sweater!
I found myself rushing with last minute Christmas errands all weekend. It seemed I'd never manage to finish it all before Santa's traditional visit to the house. So carving a few hours out of the precious weekend seemed like a sacrifice I could barely afford.
But I did it. I managed to get a few easy miles in, to justify the bowl of chili afterward. And, of course, the errands eventually got done. That's what running is all about for me in the first place. It's an escape from the stresses of life. And getting a chance to run through some of the beautifully decorated neighborhoods of my town with friends really brought the holiday spirit back to mind.
It's a tradition I hope to keep for many years to come. I hope you all enjoy your holiday traditions.
See you on the roads...........