Bust Your Bells Fun Run 2017 - The Report

We had another crisp day for Bust Your Bells Fun Run 2017. Runners are the toughest people I know! Last year the temperature was 6 degrees at race time. This year was a bit less cold, but still quite frigid. The sun broke through the inversion haze once again and off they ran on snow covered ground.
This small town event benefits the local food bank. Participants donated food items for their registration fee. Many finished with frosty eyebrows and eyelashes.
Like I said, runners are tough!

Another fun shirt design!

Here are the results from Bust Your Bells 2016! 

Women's 5K -

1st Place - Emma Strommen

Men's 5K - 

1st Place - Alex Peterson

10K -

1st Place Female - Becky Hawkins

1st Place Male  - Stetson Beus

And they're off!

Special thanks to Shu's Idaho Running Company for donating the timing clock and prizes. 

To view more photos and stay informed about future Bust Your Bells Fun Runs, follow our facebook page.

 Blue skies! The sun makes all the difference!

Running Granny Green encourages women, especially grandmothers, to gain greater fitness by providing tips and inspiration to insure long years of joyful grand-parenting. The cookie recipes are a bonus!

Happy Running!

- Carol aka Running Granny Green

Follow me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram!

Bust Your Bells Fun Run 2016 - The Report

Jingle Bells adorn our shoes!

Runners are the toughest people I know. Bust Your Bells FunRun 2016 proves it. The morning dawned (Well, I guess it dawned. We hadn’t seen the sun in a while) breezy and cold! By race time the winds that were gusting to 22 mph the evening before had slowed to under 5 mph. The temperature? That was another story. I worried that no runners would show.

As I checked and rechecked my weather app I prayed the sub-zero temps would rise. I awaited phone calls from participants apologizing and begging off. None came. I watched the temperature climb, ever so slowly. I checked our facebook page. There were expressions of dread, but nobody was backing out. The race was on!

Food Bank Donation

This fun run is a small town event with the local foodbank as the beneficiary. Runners donate non-perishable food items as their registration fee. Commemorative shirts can be purchased, but they are not necessary for participation. However, who wouldn’t want one of these?

The starting bells jingled at 10:09am or 10:11am sharp, just like always! Hey, we were waiting for warmer temps. It was a balmy 6 degrees above zero with very little wind. The sun even attempted to break through the cold haze. Runners slipped and slid their way along a 5K, 10K, and a modified 1.34 mile course. Most of those brave souls opted for the 5K with a handful of particularly tough folks running the full 10K course. Times were slow and faces were frosty, but everyone was smiling as they slid into the finish line. Nobody froze to death and nobody was injured.

As I mentioned previously, runners are the toughest people I know!

Here are the results from Bust Your Bells 2016!

Women's 5K -

1st Place - 31.20 Lydia Stevenson

2nd Place - 39.25 Kelsey Noble

3rd Place - 39.30 Sonia Basterrechea-Maggard

Men's 5K -

1st Place - 23.38 Alex Peterson

2nd Place - 23.40 Stetson Beus

3rd Place - 28.25 Grant Stockett

10K -

1st Place - 42.13 Dennis Atkinson

2nd Place - 46.26 Britton Parker

Special thanks to Shu's Idaho Running Company for donating the timing clock and prizes.

To view more photos and stay informed about future Bust Your Bells Fun Runs, follow our facebook page.

Running Granny Green encourages women, especially grandmothers, to gain greater fitness by providing tips and inspiration to insure long years of joyful grand-parenting. The cookie recipes are a bonus!

Happy Running!

- Carol aka Running Granny Green

Follow me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram!

Bust Your Bells Fun Run 2015 – The Report

We had another fun time at the 5^th Annual BustYour Bells Holiday Run! The morning began with pouring rain and a few decided to stay home. We are sorry they missed it. The skies dried up long to provide great running weather!

The run has been around long enough that we have collected some faithful followers! They know who they are! Thank you for your continued support! We had several new participants this year as well. We love making new friends!

 

We were able to make a generous contribution to the Sunshine Cupboard for which they are truly grateful. Thank you for your generosity!

The bright red shirts were a hit!  Thanks to I/D/E/A for another cute design! Next time you don your shirt check out the elves’ shoes. They must be Parma runners!

Thank you to Shu’s Idaho Running Company for supplying the time clock and some great prizes! Mike and his staff are always supportive of our events.  The next time you need running gear, stop in and tell them Running Granny Green sent you!

Thank you to Rivercity Roe for their donation to our prize drawing. One lucky runner ran away with some cute Christmas leggings. Stop by their Facebook page and give them some love.

The best part about the Bust Your Bells run is the friendships we continue to make. Thanks for coming back year after year. We invite you to share you race pics on the Bust Your Bells Fun Run Facebook page.

S-t-r-e-e-e-t-c-h!

See you next year!

Have a Merry Christmas and as always ...

Happy Running!

Follow me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram!

Bust Your Bells Fun Run 2014 - The Report

Starting line

What a great day for a race.  I am sorry if you missed it.  Today was 4^th Annual Bust Your Bells Holiday Run in Parma, Idaho and we had unseasonably gorgeous weather! This year’s commemorative gear was a beanie hat.  It was fun to see so many little blue heads bobbing up and down along the course. 

 

 

Here is a picture of our leader, Susan, sporting the blue beanie!

 

We collected all of this food for The Sunshine Cupboard, Parma’s food bank.

Donations for the Sunshine Cupboard

Thanks to Shu’s Idaho Running Company for donating the timing clock and prizes, our local law enforcement for helping to keep us safe, and Parma’s Fire Department for donating and preparing hot chocolate for the after race snacks.  I few cookies to go with the cocoa and we were well fed post-run.

It was good to catch up with my summer running buddy, Kelli.  We haven’t been running together since August, but it was just like old times – only slower.

Me and My Buddy

You can still participate in a fun run in 2014.  Here’s one for the Canyon County Crowd. Ugly Sweater 5K on December 20 in Caldwell, Idaho. Register HERE.

Remember, it’s called a fun run for a reason.  You don’t have to run, you can walk.  The fun part is celebrating your ability to get out and move!

Follow the Bust Your Bells Facebook page to see pictures and keep informed when next year’s run rolls around.

Happy Running!

What's in a word?

I had a conversation yesterday with a non-running friend about participating in an upcoming local 5K.  This One. Her goal is to walk the route and that is always a worthy goal.  We don't all have to run, but we should all attempt to move!  I was reminded once again how runners have our own vocabulary. 
She asked, "Now, there is a five and a three?"
"No, just a 5K,"  I answered.
"So ... a 5K is how far?"
"Three miles."  (I thought everyone knew that. Yet, I didn't know that before I began running.)
She looked at me sideways, but seemed to accept that information as fact.  I didn't include that last .1 mile.
I am sure it's all very confusing.  We measure our races in kilometers and our pace time by the mile. We use terms like tempo and tapering, throwing them at non-runners the way educators throw acronyms (AYP, LEP, SAT) at parents. 
Maybe it isn't the running that scares them off.  Maybe it is the confusing lingo.  Running is hard enough without the challenge of learning a new language!  For the non-running reader out there, here is a short glossary.

K - Kilometer or 1000 Meters.   A 5K is equal to 3.1 miles.  A 10K is 6.2, and so forth.
Carbo Load - Eating lots of carbohydrates prior to a race for race day fuel.
Race Pace - How fast can you go for at least 3 miles or 5000 meters?
Tempo Run - A workout done just under Race Pace.
Tapering - Taking it easy at the end of your training plan in an attempt to have fresh legs on race day.
PR - Personal Record. Your fastest time at a given distance.(I once had a sibling thinking I had been interviewed about my race!  Public Relations???  I'm really not that fast!)
Refueling - Just what it says. Eat up!  You earned it by racing!

This is a SHORT glossary, but it might help next time you try to communicate with a runner.  We sometimes forget that not everyone is interested enough in running to try it.  Fewer still have mastered the language!

Snow!

Finally, a snowstorm!

Finally!  I have been waiting for a snowstorm.  Not because I was so anxious to run in one, but I wanted it to warm up enough to snow so that I could stand to run outside.  I am not an indoor runner.  Give me the open road, passing cars to dodge, and an occasional barking dog to avoid and I am a happy runner. I have also been waiting for two years to try out my Yaktrax, a Christmas gift from my youngest son.

Yaktrax

It wasn't a long run, and I am sure it wasn't pretty, but it was a run none the less. (Is that supposed to be one word?)

Lucky running socks

I donned my new lucky running socks (a Christmas gift from my good buddy, Paulee), double layers on my legs and torso, headband, gloves, running tunes, hooded sweatshirt, running shoes (still sporting jingle bells from Bust Your Bells Fun Run), my Yaktrax, and off I ran!
Snowflakes stayed on my nose and eyelashes.  The Yaktrax were very effective on loose and packed snow - not so good on ice.  Who needs to run on ice, anyway?

Yaktrax Tracks

Running out of year ...

This running granny is running out of year!  The holidays (I am not being politically correct.  I am simply including Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and my birthday!) have been tough on this runner.  Too much celebrating and not enough running, but things will begin to settle down - maybe late next week!
I thought it mighthelp if I listed the running accomplishments of the past year.
January - No races. However, I kept running through the cold weather.
February - Some days were two-a-days.  I ran in the morning and took Mom too the track for a half mile strol in the afternoons.
March - I began training for my first half marathon.
April - I visited Erie, PA and ran with my daughter and granddaughter.  The three year-old made it nearly a mile!
May - Beat the Coaches Fun Run in Parma - track team benefit.
June - Ahh, June!  Old Fort Boise Days Fun Run.  I finally broke a 30 minute 5K!  Then I almost died in the High Desert Half Marathon.  Read about it here.
July - Spudman Triathalon in Burley with my good buddy Paulee.  We took first place in our age group!
August and September - Cross Country. Running with the kids!
October - The Color Run with Tami and Karli.
November - A lazy Turkey Trot with my hubby (just the two of us) on the hills in Cache Valley.
December - Bust Your Bells Fun Run!

That feels better.  I can see that I did, indeed, keep on running all year - injury free!  I expect I will do the same in the year to come.   I will, however, find an easier half marathon!

Leaves and more leaves!

Boy, have I been neglecting my blog, or what?  I've been busy running and picking up leaves, and trying to promote a run and picking up leaves, and doing other stuff and picking up leaves!  I think my trees have finally lost most of their foliage, and so have the neighbors' trees.  The wind started to blow.  Now that I have picked up most of my leaves, the neighbor leaves are coming for a visit.  The trouble is - they stay. How does that work, anyway?  My leaves are tiny and they drop straight down.  They stay where they land until I pick them up, but the neighbors have big leaves and if they wait long enough, their leaves just blow away - usually to my house!
Enough of that rant!

 

Come join us for the Bust Your Bells Fun Run on December 15.  The leaves should be gone by then!