Santa Scamper - Race Report

I'm going to keep this race report simple.  It's not going to be my usual race report with a bunch of headings.  Just a simple report of my most recent race completed.  Why, you ask?  Well, I really wouldn't consider this a "race" per se.  But, to my two oldest girls, it was one of the best "races" of their lives.  Every year the City of Appleton hosts their annual Christmas Parade the Tuesday before Thanksgiving.  Before the parade, a local running shoe company, Run Away Shoes, hosts a small 1 mile race/fun run before the start of the race.  I used to "run" this race with my cousins when I was much younger.  Then middle school sports set in and soon I was marching the parade as a trumpet player for the Appleton East High School band.  I honestly couldn't even tell you when the last time I ran in a Santa Scamper.  But, all would change this year.  Sarah and I try to make it to the Appleton Christmas Parade every year now that we have kids.  This year, though, we planned on having the girls run in the Santa Scamper before the parade.

After missing out on the Freaky 5k a couple weeks ago, the girls were eager to run in another race.  It was a late idea by Sarah to sign up for this race.  The race itself if a rather simple concept.  It runs straight down College Avenue (Downtown Appleton), and makes one turn and runs to a small downtown park.  The race is just one mile, which is a great race distance for families.  Along with your registration, you get a traditional Santa Scamper hat along with a Dairy Queen Dilly Bar and a coupon for a free Burger King Whopper....all for just $10.00.  By far the best part of the event is it promotes a healthy, active lifestyle along with spending time with family and friends.  All in all, its a great deal.

This year would not only be special to me and my girls, but special to me.  This year, not only would I be running with Maya and Delany, but my father would be running along with us.  On top of my dad running with us, one of my best friends from college, Erik, ran with us along with his oldest son.  Leading up to the race, I wanted to treat this run as a traditional race for me to keep my daughters excited for the run.  I really wanted to wear jeans and a winter coat and just treat it like a casual run, but I wanted my daughters to get excited and stay excited for the run.  I ended up wearing a pair of Nike track pants.  I still wore my running shoes along with my race bib belt and my Garmin GPS Watch.

We got to the parade early to make sure we got a spot on the parade route so the kids could have a front row seat.  That allowed us to be very early for the run as well.  The run started at 6:30 and the parade started at 7:00.  We got to Downtown Appleton around 5:15.  Around 6:00 we all started walking to the start line.

As I mentioned the race started at 6:30.  I wasn't quite sure what to expect with the girls.  I knew Maya would do fine, but Delaney, I wasn't sure at all.  It turns out Delaney ran with me, while Maya ran with my dad.  Delaney surprised the hell out of me and ran about 95% of the entire mile.  We even caught up with my dad and Maya, who evidently ran out a little too fast.  We ended up finishing the run along side Maya and my dad.  After the race we got out Dilly Bars and headed back to the parade.  The girls were both super pumped they ran the "WHOLE RACE!"  The whole night was a lot of fun with the family and some of our best friends.  We will definitely be back next year if my work schedule cooperates!

My favorite part of the parade!

Cheers!
Thanks for reading!