Join Jingle Bell Run and dress for excess

By Karen Blakeman
Advertiser Staff Writer

The mistletoe needs to be hung, and not a single fir tree has materialized in the living room. The budget is tight and the jeans are even tighter — already.

Looking to escape the holiday stress? Maybe a little fun is what you need.

It's time for the 18th Annual Jingle Bell Run, the kind of run where antlers, Santa hats and brightly sequined head antennae are encouraged. Bring Fido, dress him up in something that would embarrass his mother half to death, and you might stand a chance at winning the canine costume contest.

Bring friends who are already looking bleary-eyed from late nights shopping, and win the largest group award.

"It's a fun run," said Noreen Conlin, director of public relations for Special Olympics. "People come out with baby carriages and children. Some people stroll, some people go out there and jog a little."

The 18th annual Honolulu Advertiser Jingle Bell Run, a 2-mile fun run/walk, begins at 6 p.m. Saturday. The event goes from the municipal offices building at South Beretania and Alapa'i streets to Aloha Tower Marketplace.

Entry fees are $30 for those 13 and older, $10 for children 12 and under, and $23 per person for groups of four or more.

The post-run party is free for walkers and runners.

Watch for entry blanks in The Advertiser, or download the form at www.specialolympicshawaii.org.

Got holiday guilt at the thought of spending money on something that's just for fun? Banish it. Proceeds go to Special Olympics, and that's a charitable contribution sure to put smiles on a lot of faces.

Need more incentive? This year, one Jingle Bell runner will win a new Saturn Ion, and it comes free of the kind of dried-out evergreen needles that are still hiding in the trunk of your car from last year.