The inaugural Jingle Bell Run kicked off at the Osoyoos Sonora Centre on a snowy Saturday, Nov. 4 morning with a crowd nearly four times larger than organizers had originally hoped for.
The event was organized by runner Sarah Gilchrist who was behind the creation, earlier this year, of the Desert Valley Running Club (DVRC), and Sarah Dynneson, the program supervisor for the Town of Osoyoos. The 3km route around Osoyoos was clearly marked and participants were welcome to run or walk the circuit.
Organised by the two Sarahs – (l-r) Sarah Dynneson and Sarah Gilchrist.
The two friends had been tossing around the idea for a run and thought it would be a great add-on to the town’s Christmas Lite-up on the same day.
“We asked people to pre-register and at last count, we had 93,” she said on Saturday just prior to the run. “We would have been excited to get 25 and we were blown away when we got 50. We upped the numbers to 75 thinking that would be it, blew through that and last I checked we were sitting at 93,” she laughs. About 25 children running with adults also registered.
With this kind of participation, Dynneson is pretty confident it will be an annual event.
The registration fee was $15 per adult and kids 12 and under were free with a participating adult. The money went into food and decorations with Rotary International volunteering their time to tend the BBQ. Registration included a finish-line treat from Lake Village Bakery, hot dogs, hot chocolate and a chance to win prizes in the lucky draw.
Leftover money from the registration fee will go into a kitty for next year which promises to be even bigger and better.
Sponsors included Phantom Creek Estates, Lake Village Bakery, Tinhorn Creek, Heaven on Earth, Junction 3 Coffee House, BMO, Chantal’s Wax Bar & Esthetics, Sunshine Valley Family Chiropractic, Ambrosia Family Restaurant, and Spirit Ridge.
