Santa Fun'd'-Run 10k Race Report

The Green Girl did the Santa Fun'd' Run yesterday.

The race was organized by The Neighborhood United Methodist Community. Some of the Sole Runners are actively involved with this organization.

The proceeds benefited the Fitness 4 All's Progressive Marathon Program and the CANTA! After-school Academy.

Fitness 4 All is a local Long Beach after-school program in downtown Long Beach. 4th and 5th graders had the opportunity to run the distance of a marathon in six weeks. At the Finish Line of the Santa Fun'd' Run, they had completed all 26.2 miles.

The CANTA! After-school Academy is sponsored by the Long Beach Opera The Neighborhood United Methodist Community, and Fitness 4 All.

CANTA! is a cross-curricular after-school program in downtown Long Beach for 4th and 5th grade students. Opera America's Music! Words! Opera! (M!W!O!) curriculum is used to help the students create, produce, and perform original opera productions.

To help show my support, I volunteered to bring some finisher cupcakes.

The owner of my favorite cupcake place, Miss Priss Cupcakes & Such, Karie Foster, offered a generous discount in support of the event.

An Elf won the 10k

It was a damp and foggy race morning but the runners were all in good spirits.

The course was along the Long Beach Shoreline Pedestrian Bikepath. The path was surprisingly empty for a Saturday morning - presumably due to the rain.

The volunteers were all smiles

As I headed out, I cheered on all the 5k runners on their way back.

The hydration stations had brightly covered tablecloths that could be spotted from miles away. They had the standard runner staples of water, oranges, and pretzels.

Santa Claus gave all the runners a candy cane at the Finish Line as we received our Santa medals.

I loved that the local youth were able to be a part of the event raising money for their program.