The city where I live has been having a light display for the past couple of years that just keeps growing. It goes on a 3/4 mile loop around a pond at the edge of town. The lights are on from dusk til dawn daily. Each year the display grows and this year they have added activities in the evenings such as carriage rides, hot cocoa and bonfires. The newspaper did a nice article about the display here. The lights are even nice to view from the street driving by although the only effect from there is Wow! That's a lot of lights. I think I've been to the light display six times already this year but always pre-dawn, not in the evening. If I run from home, it's a solid 8+ mile run. I can easily make it 10 by adjusting the route to and from or going around 2-3 times when I get there. I did the 10 mile option yesterday. If you've been following the blog for a while, you may suspect this was a "Stella's Groove" run based on the pace and you would be correct. From watching my long run pace while my friend is recuperating from foot surgery, I can definitely tell that the weather makes a big difference in the pace I can maintain. I've had a couple of nice runs in the 20's and 30's which were speedier than last week when my starting out temp was 2.
My friend also very much enjoys the holiday lights so last weekend I asked her if she felt like her foot would be okay for a walk around the light display figuring once or twice around might be her limit. Well, we (along with Charlie) kept going until the lights turned off at dawn an hour and about 5 laps later. I was extremely impressed that she walked that long and far in a surgical boot. It was so much fun catching up that we went again this morning and made plans on the way out to go again next weekend! People around town seem to be really enjoying the light display. I like that it can be a fun family activity for those with small kids or those who enjoy the togetherness of moderate crowds of people. I love that it can be just as fun for the early morning crowd who are up and exercising anyway but can take in a change of scenery and bolster their holiday spirit. I've yet to go out there and be all alone; there are always other runners or walkers on the path, but not enough that anyone gets in anyone else's way. I'm glad that everyone can take part because it's also free, even when there are snacks being served. Bentleyville in Duluth is a much grander Christmas light display that is also free and super-cool complete with music playing along the walkways and Santa being present to meet with kids except on Christmas Eve (obviously!). However the scale of Bentleyville makes is impossible for them to just leave the lights on all night like our lighted path in Sartell to accommodate the morning runners. They are both awesome light displays, but in their own way. The town where we grew up plays Christmas music very loudly on main street during the Christmas season...and when I say loudly, I mean nearly concert volume. Extremely festive! There is also a house with an incredible light display. See more about it here. Do you have a favorite holiday light display? Can you enjoy it on your run/walk? Does your city have any special holiday events that you like to take in each year? If you are having mild December weather like we are, be sure to get out and enjoy it! Happy running--Missee
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AuthorMissee and Stephanie are two Minnesota sisters and moms who love to run. We are not experts in running, parenting or anything else, but we do have years of experiences that may be helpful or entertaining to others. Archives
May 2020
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