Holly Jolly Race

Holly Jolly 5k 2011
Time 37:03

There are very few races that I have done consecutively every year that I have been running. Every year I find new and different races to do.  Some of the new races conflict with races that I've done in the past.  Some races I do not want to do again (poor planning, expensive, inconvenient, or tired of doing that race).  Some races stop occurring so even if I loved them I can't do them again.  There is one exception to this practice, The Holly Jolly 5k/10k.  This race takes place the 1st weekend in December in my hometown, Piqua, Ohio, and is part of the Piqua Weekend "Christmas on the Greene".

My Husband at the 2011 Holly Jolly

My Mom at the 2011 Holly Jolly

I started running in July of 2011.  My mom and I started exercising together that month with Walking Wednesdays and Cycling Saturdays.  We signed up for cheap and local races and events to motivate us, to give us a goal to work towards to keep us exercising.  The Holly Jolly fit our needs.  The start was about 3/4 of a mile from my home and it cost under $20 to register with a shirt.  When I ran it in 2011 I broke my 5k PR by about 4 minutes.  I was on home turf and felt comfortable with the course and it really made a difference in my time that day.  I didn't love the shirt, but I saw people that I knew at the race and had a great finish time so I was excited to race it again.  I also found out what the age group prizes were, ball ornaments.  I had never seen a race use such an item as an age group award.  It made it unique.  I wanted to win one of those ornaments one day.  My mom also ran the race and so did my husband.  He signed up on a whim, it wasn't his 1st 5k but he wasn't a runner either.  He ran in Doc Marten's and Jeans and he also had a PR...

Holly Jolly 5k 2012
Time 32:30

My Dad and I at the 2012 Holly Jolly

By the 2012 race I had joined a running club, ran at least 4 days every week, and had completed 2 half marathons.  I felt like I was really a runner.  I was excited to run the Holly Jolly 5k again.  This year they changed the course.  Instead of starting going up a hill and finishing going down it followed a pretty level course along the river.  This year my dad joined my mom, my husband, and I in running the race.  The start was a bit farther from home but I still knew the area and was excited for another chance to PR at this local race.  The shirt design was the same as the year before, it was just a different color.  I still didn't like it.  The weather was a bit wetter but I knew better what I was doing than the last year.  I didn't get a PR that year, nor did I win an ornament.  Little did I know that I was running on multiple stress fractures and maybe a complete fracture.  Knowing now that I was running with such an injury I am happy I was able to run it and enjoy it.  It was my final race in the Miami County 5k tour and I did earn a medal for completing the tour and that was one of the reasons I ran it.  Even though I didn't know I had that injury, I was hurting and it was tempting to take that race off.  I just had to finish the tour and get the medal.  I also enjoyed running my family members in to the finish.  This was the 1st year I did that.

Holly Jolly 10k 2013
Time 1:04:16

In 2013 the organizers of the Holly Jolly decided to add a 10k.  I was ecstatic!  I had spent a lot of 2013 healing my foot, then training properly for a half marathon.  I didn't do a lot of races that were not a part of my training plan and I had to take about 3 months off of running to heal.  I had not done any 10ks in 2013 and that was my favorite distance at the time.  It was just wrong.  So I signed up and eagerly awaited the day of the race.  The day before the race there was a huge snowstorm.  Schools were closed, roads were dangerous, and a lot of the Christmas on the Greene was canceled.  We took the boys to the Kiddie Christmas shop that night and it was pretty deserted.  We had discovered the shop the year before since our oldest had to march in the parade with his scout troop and both of the boys loved it.  (The kids have a list and money.  They shop in a back room with a high school volunteer and wrap their gifts.  They come out with surprise presents for the whole family.)  It seemed we would have a very seasonal run.  I wasn't worried about running in the snow, I'd done it many times before but apparently the race organizers were.  That day they decided to cancel the 10k and transfer all the 10k entries to 5k entries.  There was a revolt.


My 1st Place ornament

10k runners wanted to run a 10k even if they had to run the 5k course twice.  We thought that they canceled it because they couldn't clear the whole course or something was blocking the course from the storm.  We knew we could find a way to preserve the 10k for the 10th anniversary of the race.  It turns out that they thought that runners wouldn't want to run a 10k in that weather.  Well, they were wrong.  I ran in YakTrax, there was frozen water at the water stations, and due to the debacle of cancellation there were not many 10k runners to compete against.  I had so much fun!  My husband stuck to the 5k and my mom opted out of running it that year so it was a bit different for us.  When my husband finished the 5k he talked to some reps from a local running store while he waited for me.  He told them that I was hoping for a PR, they laughed.  I not only got the PR (by 2 minutes) I also claimed my 1st ornament.  I had won 1st in my age group, 30-34.  (My Husband also won a hat from the people who laughed at me.)  It was a good year.  This was also the year that our awesome running store opened, Can't Stop Running Co., not the ones that laughed.

Holly Jolly 10k 2014
Time 56:07

Mark at the Holly Jolly 2014
With the white hat

2014 brought me my 1st marathon and many accomplishments.  I ran many races of all different lengths and I kept improving.  I had to run Holly Jolly again.  It helped that Can't Stop Running was having an after party with pancakes and other free goodies to celebrate their anniversary.  I had been running with the store groups solidly since May and I had made many friends their.  My son, Mark, also decided to join us in 2014 and I wasn't about to tell him he couldn't run and if he was running I might as well run it.  It was another rainy race and they changed the course back to what it was in 2011 (adding the 10k in as well).  My mom almost backed out, but Mark wanted to run with her and she couldn't say no.  I was happy with my results again.  It was another PR for me and my splits were really even.  I was surprised I wasn't faster on the downhill, but I was happy with my results.  I also earned my 2nd ornament.  Once again I was excited.  I was 2nd place in my age group but there was more competition since they didn't cancel it at the last minute.  My husband also earned an ornament as 3rd in his age group in the 5k.  At least I was excited at first.  When I got home I opened it to discover the same exact ornament with a different color ribbon.  The sticker on the box was different but the design was the same.  I was a little disappointed.  I thought that there would be something to mark it as being a new year, a different placing, but there wasn't.  I started to see the flaws in the Holly Jolly.  The water stations each year were either frozen, non-existent, or self serve (jug with glasses).  The shirts were always cotton.  The door prizes were given away long before everyone had finished.  I had to go back on course to retrieve a jacket I ditched and I accidentally ran 10 miles that day, whoops, and missed all the prizes.  Luckily my husband grabbed my ornament.  I was wondering if I would run this race again.

Holly Jolly 5k 2015
Time 29:19

 The Holly Jolly came again in 2015, like it always does.  I've been battling a foot injury since October and have only run 7 miles in the last month.  I don't love the race as much as I used to, but it is a part of our tradition.  Do I run this race again?

I chose to run it because of Can't Stop Running.  I now see it as a part of their anniversary celebration and I've done a lot with the store during the last year.  There's also a part of me that doesn't want to lose the tradition.  I signed up for the 5k because I know my fitness is lacking due to my injury.  I also don't want to push myself and re-injure my foot.  Surprisingly Mark wants to run it again.  My mom and husband are onboard for the race too.  It is truly a family tradition.  I saw all my friends and one paced with me for a while too.  I didn't push myself to PR or place (I didn't want another snowman ornament).  I just ran it to run it.  I finished in 29:19 which is 4:30 slower than my PR, but I didn't hurt and I was happy to run under 30 minutes after so much time off of running.  I walked back to run my husband, mom, and son in adding 2 miles to my day (I might as well have done the 10k).  I was happy I wasn't hurting.  There was no water on the course again, but I didn't really notice that.  Some of my friends were volunteering and cheering for me, that I noticed.  The Holly Jolly 5k this year helped me return to the joy of running with my friends and family.  Even after all these years and all the problems that have occurred, it's really a good race.  I think I'll do it again next year.