Double Check Your Ugly Christmas Sweater Run Race Plans Before Heading Out!!!!

Good Luck 2013 Ugly Christmas Sweater Runners and Walkers!!!!

It's hard to believe, but it is that time of year again.......time for the Ugly Christmas Sweater 5km Fun Run and 1 Mile Walk, to benefit the Cerebral Palsy Association of Colorado Springs! What started out as a dare with some friends in 2009 has now turned into a tradition, now in its third year.

Unfortunately in April, I found out we might not be living in the area later in this year. And due to some ongoing health issues, I notified the Cerebral Palsy Association of Colorado Springs that due to all the uncertainties in my life, I wouldn't be able to be the race director, (or fashion police lady) in 2013. It was an honor to have created this race and help this worthy charity. A big thank you to all the runners, sponsors, and volunteers of the past two years who supported the event I founded.

I hope you will be able to run this year's event dressed in your finest Ugly Christmas Sweater and support this local charity. The race is on this year, but please double check with the new race director to make sure the race hasn't been postponed due to the poor weather conditions!!!! It looks like the weather is going to be a lot like it was the first year: COLD!!!! (the first year it was about 2 degrees at the start, but thanks to a bunch of resilient and dedicated runners and volunteers, the race was a success)

Please go to www.active.com to register, and contact the Cerebral Palsy Association of Colorado Springs at 719-638-0808, or the new race director Brandon at 828-712-3737. Or go to www.cpappr.org for more information.

All the best and good luck to everyone!!!!!
Anita
race founder

A huge thank you to everyone!

A huge thank you to the nearly 250 runners and walkers who participated in the 2012 Ugly Christmas Sweater Fun Run, befitting the Cerebral Palsy Association of Colorado Springs ! We had a record crowd, and are already on the books for next year!

Some of you who participated in last year's event asked for warmer weather. Well, you got it! Once again we were lucky enough to have Matt Meister of News Channel 13 join us,delivering us temperatures that neared 70 degrees, (compared to last year's zero degree temperatures) which probably felt a lot warmer, since everyone was wearing sweaters .Last year's run was too cold, this year's run was too hot. Maybe next year's run will be just right........

Another big thank you to the many local businesses who donated the gift cards, stuffed animals, bagels, ( I saw a few well fed squirrels running around with whole bagels in their mouths! Those Monument Valley Park squirrels can be pretty bold, so I am sorry to those of you whose bagels were stolen by squirrels) and other goodies that were used as citations given out by the "fashion police lady" (aka the race director and founder).

Thank you also to all our sponsors. Without you, this race couldn't happen. The Colorado Running Company was there helping us at packet pickup and did the timing, which is a good thing, because counting can be hard for a "creative type" like me. And your sweaters! They would have made it impossible to concentrate on counting anyway! clashing colors, fuzz balls and pills, stripes mixed with polka dots, polyester blends, strange elf skirts worn in conjunction with their sweater (yes, you know who you are)......... corsages, yes, corsages, apparently worn just to further flaunt your fashion disaster. Can you imagine a scene with everyone there at the finish doing the "Gangnam Style" dance in their sweaters?! just a thought......



The city of Colorado Springs is great to work with. A big thank you to the great people at Parks and Recreation who were always helpful and patient, and answered all my calls and emails (which were plentiful)  to get this event off the ground. American Medical Response and the off duty police officers who were helped at our event went above and beyond in their efforts. And based on how terrible some of those sweaters you all were wearing, I think they all should have been given hazard duty pay! Seriously people. Some of your sweaters were downright scary!

And to all our volunteers who selflessly and anonymously donated the hundreds of behind the scenes hours of time and effort, THANK YOU!

Results are posted on CPACS Ugly Christmas Sweater Fun Run's new website! We're still building it, but the initial results are up. (Some of you who entered the walk at packet pick up and on race day may not be listed yet.)

Please go to www.uglychristmassweaterrun.com

And please support CPACS  our event's official charity, which has been part of the local Pikes Peak Community for over 47 years.   For more information on this organization, please go to www.cpappr.org

PARKING UPDATE

The Colorado College has just offered all participants of the 2012 Ugly Christmas Sweater Fun Run and Walk free parking at the visitors parking lot! it is a one mile walk to the start, but it saves the timely hassle of trying to find parking on side streets on a very busy weekend in Colorado Springs. Here is a map of the campus with the location of the parking lot.

http://www.coloradocollege.edu/basics/campus/campusmap/CCcampusMap.pdf

Registering for the 2012 Ugly Christmas Sweater Run

Important 2012 Ugly Christmas Sweater Run Registration Update!!!!!

For anyone wishing to register for the 2012 Ugly Christmas Sweater 5km Fun Run and 1 Mile walk, please either register via the link below, or go directly to www.active.com.  Online registration ends at midnight the 27th of Nov.  You can register in person at packet pickup at the Colorado Running Company on 833 N Tejon in Colorado Springs on November 30th from 2 PM to 7 PM, or starting at 10 AM at the race start.

TO REGISTER FOR THE 2012 UGLY CHRISTMAS SWEATER 5K FUN RUN & 1 MILE WALK, PLEASE GO TO http://www.active.com/event_detail.cfm?event_id=2045619

The link on the event website, (www.jtp.com/uglysweaterrun/) had been taking people to the 2011 link, which said registration is closed. We've resolved this with the webmaster and Active. Registration for the 2012 event is open! We hope you'll come out and join us and support a very good cause! Once again, all proceeds go directly to the Cerebral Palsy Association of Colorado Springs. www.cpappr.org

Also, new this year, we have a t-shirt option! For an additional $7, you can purchase a 2012 Ugly Christmas Sweater 5k Fun Run & 1 Mile Walk event shirt. The shirt is cotton. UPDATE! The deadline for ordering shirts is past.  There may be extras for purchase at packet pickup or the morning of the race.  These are going to be very special shirts, with the design created by the siblings of children with CP.

Prizes, prizes, prizes.......

This year we have some great prizes to those daring individuals  flaunting their ugliest of holiday sweaters. We have gift cards from local businesses such as Terra Verde, Zeezos, The Savory Spice Shop, Barracuda Bazaar, Phantom Canyon, Salsa Brave, Texas Road House, not to mention gift certificates from RoadID, a signed copy of the hilarious  new book by Brian Clark Howard, "Rock Your Ugly Christmas Sweater" (see link below), and a subscription to Trail Runner Magazine! A huge and grateful thank you to all these generous businesses and people! If it weren't for them, you'd be getting these ornaments I made last year:

I tried, people. I really, really tried.

           



Thanks to our latest sponsors, Savory Spice Shop, and Zeezo's!  Both of these unique shops are located in downtown, and graciously donated prizes for those cited for particularly offensive sweaters by the Fashion Policy lady.  Be sure to stop by their stores for some post race shopping!

Have you put off getting your ugly  sweater until the last minute? No problem! Zeezos has ugly holiday sweaters in stock for your fashion ( or lack thereof) needs! They also have all sorts of hilarious Christmas hats to wear with your ugly sweater! Zeezos is an awesome local business, and is always so much fun to look around in. Please support our local businesses and race sponsors!

And right next door to Zeezos is the Savory Spice Shop. This has to be one of the best smelling stores in town! The variety and quality of the different spices they sell is amazing, and the staff is friendly and knowledgeable. If you love to cook, ( or try to cook, like me) try adding their gourmet spices to your recipes. BTW, their Vanilla Bean Sugar is incredible.......

A big thank you once again to the Colorado Running Company for their continued support this year. They'll be out there helping us set-up, and with the finish line too. (yes, I had to promise them some of those awful looking ornaments I made last year, that I was too embarrassed to give away as prizes for you all at the last minute. If you want to see just how terrible they were, do stop by the downtown CRC after race day, and you'll find some of my latest "creations" hanging on their tree, or see the picture above. Honestly people, I was afraid last year's would scare away business, they were that bad. Fortunately the good folks at the CRC are still there, and are actually asking for more of my handiwork.) Please support this awesome local business, who tirelessly supports the local running community!

Thanks also to RoadID, who has also signed on to this year's event! Their contribution has saved this race a bundle, and again, all proceeds go directly to the Cerebral Palsy Association of Colorado Springs!

Prizes..... well, so far Barracuda Bazaar has donated a gift card for some lucky winner. I love Barracuda Bazaar! It is a really unique place and has great personality. No matter how lousy a day I am having, I can go in their store, look at the cards and magnets and get cheered up. They have great cloths, and helpful staff that can help you transition out of that ugly sweater! No doubt you'll find a great holiday present or stocking stuffer for someone there . ( I have a picture of the many magnets I bought there  on my other "off the record" blog) Thanks Barracuda Bazaar, for your support, and for being another awesome local business!

I guess those ugly sweaters didn't scare away Phantom Canyon. They supported this event last year, and are once again  offering up dinner coupons to some lucky recipients who get cited by the fashion police lady for their exceptionally ugly sweater. If it's one thing that will help you look better in that ugly sweater you ran in public in, it's beer! So please support this fine local business. Thanks Phantom Canyon!

A new supporter this year is our local American Furniture Warehouse! If your sweater is ugly enough, you mind find yourself the winning recipient of a special gift made possible from the kind people at American Furniture Warehouse. A big thank you to you all!

Awesome! Terra Verde has donated two gift cards that will be awarded to two people who get cited for being caught in public with an exceptionally ugly holiday sweater! Terra Verde is another unique local business that has unique gifts, cloths, shoes ( Poetic Licence, which rock) and home decor where I love to shop! (thanks Tim!) You'll love to shop there too!

Brian Clark Howard has written a book you will  love, "Rock Your Ugly Christmas Sweater" and has generously donated a new copy to our event! That means one lucky individual at the race will take home a copy personally signed by the author! That means one of you lucky people gets to go home, relax by the fireplace in your ugly Christmas sweater recovering from your strenuous run or walk, and read this hilarious new book. I'm jealous! A big thank you to Brian Howard!  Learn more at http://brianclarkhoward.com/ and http://rockyouruglychristmassweater.com/.

 

There's more to come! I promise!

The 2012 Event Will be on December 1st

It's On! The 2012 Ugly Christmas Sweater 5km Fun Run and 1 Mile Walk will take place on December 1st, 2012, at 11:30 am, in beautiful Monument Valley Park, in Colorado Springs, CO. 

Last year's event was a huge success, and this year's event promises to be bigger and uglier than ever. All proceeds go directly to the Cerebral Palsy Association of Colorado Springs, CO. www.cpacs.org

We look forward to seeing you there!

More event information soon to come!

A BIG THANK YOU TO ALL THE RUNNERS, WALKERS, AND VOLUNTEERS!!!!

The First Annual Colorado Springs Ugly Christmas Sweater Fun Run and Walk is now part of running history!!! Despite frigid temperatures, 166 brave runners and walkers showed up to be part of Colorado's first Ugly Christmas Sweater Fun Run and Walk, on December 3rd, 2011! A huge thank you to all of you, and I am already working on making next year's event even better!


A little history about how this run came into existence:

Once upon a time, there was a delusional female runner who liked to do all sorts of off the wall running related things, and often talk her husband and friends into joining her. Being an insomniac, (which is good if you run ultramarathons through the night) she found herself watching reruns of classic Saturday Night Live skits one night around Christmas. The next day, as she was running with a friend, scenes of Schwetty's ball's, with Alec Baldwin on PBS, kept floating through her mind. It was hard to get the images of him being interviewed about his "balls" by two women wearing ugly Christmas Sweaters. Then it dawned on the delusional female runner: why not create a race wear people run in ugly Christmas Sweaters!! My friend had that look on her face that said,"are you serious?"

Seeing it as an opportunity to not only do something I love, but also a potential to raise money for a worthy charity, I drove home, calling my husband to tell him the "good news."


"Honey, guess what?! We're going to be race directors again!!"

Silence on the other end.

"No, seriously, lets go to Manitou tonight, and map out a course, and post it on my blog, and invite all our friends!!"

Poor Tim. As always, he has a big heart and was a good sport, and obliged, perhaps secretly hoping that none of his military coworkers would find out he was involved in something so crazy. Nevertheless, he dug out his trusty GPS, and mapped out a course, and downloaded a map on our computer. I put up a story about my run on my personal blog (www.anitamariefromm.blogspot.com), and told everyone I could tell. Somehow, a reporter from the local paper found out about it, and asked if he could do a story on it.

"Sure!" I said. "We don't have any permits, and it is free, but I am going to turn it into an official event next year." And sure enough, he came out to meet with myself, a dear friend and husband, wearing an ugly Christmas sweater and ran the whole thing with us. It ended up on the front page of the local paper the next day.

Although we ran into some "snags" the following year,(pun intended) I didn't let excessive city fees, my husband's deployment, unexpected family deaths, computer breakdowns, and personal illness stop me. I cancelled the race for 2010, and put it on again in 2011, this time in Colorado Springs, where the city's fees were much less costly, and the Parks and Rec. Department was fabulous to work with! With a lot of hard work, and help from the Cerebral Palsy Association of Colorado Springs, who was the run's beneficiary, it finally got off the ground, becoming Colorado's first Ugly Christmas Sweater Fun Run and Walk. As I scour the internet to see if this idea has caught on, it certainly is! Ugly Sweater Runs are popping up all over the state and country. To all of them, I hope this idea will be as successful for you as it is for me, and that you too are able to raise money for a worthy cause in these most trying times.