It wasn’t quite the "sea of red Santa hats" that organizer Lyndie Hill envisions for the future, but scores of festively dressed kids and grown-ups nevertheless braved chilly temps late Saturday afternoon to run/jog/sprint/bike along the Okanagan Lake waterfront in the ninth annual Santa Rec Run.
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Due to scheduling conflicts and the dipping mercury, this year's edition was bounced around a bit.
Hill, who also runs Hoodoo Adventures with husband Mike, would rather see it occur after dark when her team can more effectively light up the shoreline for passing participants. But with the Penticton Vee's Pink the Rink anti-bullying hockey game happening in the early evening, she knew it would be a David versus Goliath scenario and bumped the start time to 3:30.
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Then there was the little matter of those frightfully frigid temperatures. Originally tapped to begin at the SS Sicamous, where runners would be forced to gather outdoors before and after the event, Hill moved the start/finish line to the sidewalk directly outside Hoodoo Adventures on Ellis Street.
And the runners took advantage – huddling inside Hoodoo right up to go time.
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Although pleased with yesterday's turnout, Hill is clearly on the move toward a bigger and better future not only for the fundraising run, but also for the not-for-profit organization it benefits.
"All the money that we raise goes to the Youth Outdoor Recreation Society," she said, "a not for profit that helps subsidize outdoor recreation programming. Lots of times for outdoor recreation programming, cost is a barrier. And having kids get outside should be a right, not a privilege."
Photo Credit: NowMediaLyndie Hill addresses the troops
"This year we brought Danni Hyde on board as youth director to help us grow the Youth Outdoor Recreation Society. And this will be one of our main fundraisers for the year. It's been one of those things that we just put together, but now we really want it to be a big deal."
Hill ideally wants to see the event become a preeminent Penticton pre-Christmas date, and is currently looking for partnerships to help achieve just that. "It could really be a big deal where all the school kids decorate something and bring it down to the water and we light it all up. It could be a huge spectacle for the community."
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"Next year it'll be ten years for the run, so maybe that's the year that it really shines."
Even without the new push, things were shining pretty good at yesterday's starting line, where elves mixed with Santas, superheroes, and even a few folks wearing illuminated Christmas lights. Seems people really enjoy layering up – and dressing up – for an early winter run for a cause.
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One of those people was retired Penticton High teacher, wellness coach, and paddle board aficionado (he organizes the Monster and Sea cancer fundraiser each spring at Naramata's Mill Bay) Paul Mend.
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"I got a Facebook message saying there was a 5k Hoodoo run, and I thought what better way to spend an afternoon than to come to it. I taught both Danni and Lyndie in junior high, and I'll do anything to support the community."
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When Mend arrived, be realized be knew a bunch of his fellow runners.
"I didn't even know this whole Naramata crew was here. Naramata Elementary School is representing, and we live in the village out there, so I'm just happy we showed up with the whole crew."
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It was Mend's first Santa Rec Run. If Hill has her way, there'll be dozens and perhaps hundreds of other newbies in the forthcoming years.
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"We'd love to see thousands of people out for this one day. Waves and waves of Santa hats going down the waterfront. That would be amazing, knowing all that money would be going back to the schools to get those kids outside."
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To learn more about the Youth Outdoor Recreation Society, hit up its website.
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