Before I go into my race day description of the Jingle Bell Run (JBR) in Indianapolis I want to tell you a bit about the organization I ran for this past weekend. The Arthritis Foundation puts on the JBR and is a non-profit that supports research for all types of arthritis of which there are many. I run this event and take part in other Arthritis Foundation events since I have family who suffer from arthritis every day and because it is a very misunderstood chronic disease that afflicts not only senior citizens, but also children and people of all ages. Arthritis is not just something you get when you get older!

And back to the race!  The day started out chilly as usual, but even colder than last year’s JBR as it was a brisk 19 degrees at the start.  I waited as long as I could inside before venturing out to the start line.  The event starts and finishes at Conseco Fieldhouse where the Indianapolis NBA team plays. The race started at 9:00am and nearly 2000 runners surged ahead for a quick run around downtown Indianapolis. After 2-3 blocks we came upon our first turn and came directly into a construction zone.  The city is doing a lot of construction in preparation for Super Bowl 2012 and we got to run through the “progress” for that event. The pack of runners narrowed into one lane forcing everyone to slow and even some to walk…I was a tad unhappy at this since we all hope for a PR for any event whenever we can get it.

A few blocks later the road opened back up and we were off at top speed once again. The course takes runners through the Mass Ave shopping district to cut over to Meridian Street, back up to the City Circle where we made our final cut back over to Pennsylvania Street for the big finish in front of Conseco.

I wish I could say the day ended with a PR, but my 00:27:24.7 this year will have to do. Last year my time was 00:27:04.8 so just a little faster.  I would loved to have seen what my time would have been without the construction zone delay, but I’ll keep this post positive and not go down that track of discussion. Still, missing a PR by less than 20 seconds is a tad disappointing.

This is my last race of 2011 and it was a good one for a good cause.  My next three races all happen in one weekend next month when I travel South to tackle the Goofy Challenge (+5K on Friday) at Walt Disney World!