Jingle Jog charts new course, Celina Record

Jingle Jog charts new course in Celina Lisa Ferguson, lferguson@starlocalmedia.com Dec 10, 2015 Runners participating in Saturday’s Jingle Jog 5K & 10 K Fun Run will likely notice a big change to the course since last year’s event. It’s backwards. Organizers of the third-annual Jingle Jog, scheduled for 9 a.m. at Celina High School, said the decision was made to flip the course’s direction around after some runners last year found its uphill terrain a bit challenging. “It’s a hilly run,” agreed Sherry Redmon, chairperson of the Jingle Jog committee for event sponsor Celina Association of Renaissance Excellence (C.A.R.E.), a nonprofit academic booster club that funds Celina ISD programs and scholarships. The Jingle Jog is also unique in that “there aren’t too many runs out there that are in rural areas, so Celina has that appeal,” she said. “We run on country roads. … You can run past cattle.” Most participants appreciated the rural scenery, she said. “They were like, ‘It’s beautiful, but it’s all uphill.’ So now they’re running it downhill. We just flipped the course.” About 150 participants are expected to run in this year’s event, which is open to adults and children. Spectators are also encouraged to attend. Event sponsors, including local churches and businesses, will provide refreshments and host activities before and after the run. In what has become a tradition at the Jingle Jog, participants and spectators are encouraged to wear holiday attire – Santa beards, elf hats, reindeer noses and the like. For the first time, prizes will be awarded to those who don the most festive duds. Appearances by Santa Claus and the Chick-fil-A cow characters are also scheduled. “We’re trying to generate interest in the community to come out” and attend the event, Redmon said, noting that plans are in the works to expand the run next year to include a 15K course. As in previous years, the courses will begin and end at the high school. Both start out following County Road 134 for a bit. From there, 5K participants will run mostly in and around the DC Ranch subdivision, Redmon said. Those running in the 10K will head to CR 97 before turning onto CR 101. They’ll make their way to CR 130, and then onto CR 132 before making the final turn back onto CR 134 and heading toward the finish line. All roads will remain open to traffic during the event, Redmon said. The Jingle Jog is a chip-timed event, she explained, and runners will be able to check their results shortly after crossing the finish line on iPads at kiosks set up onsite. Those who complete the course will receive a finisher medal, and the names of the top finishers will be announced. One of those last year was Kason Hendricks, then a sixth-grader at Celina Middle School. He claimed the fastest overall time in the 5K event, which he ran while wearing a pair of basketball shoes. His mother, Cary Hendricks, ran beside him for at least part of the course. “We started out together but … I just let him go ahead,” she recalled. “He just went out there, hadn’t practiced at all, puts on his basketball shoes and just beat everybody.” The pair plan to participate again Saturday. While mom said she has done some training in preparation for the Fun Run, her son has not. “I keep asking him, `Do you want to go for a run with me?’ But he says, `Nah, I’ll be OK,’” she said. “I think he’ll have some better shoes this time.”