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Written by Bwana Bwana

December 17, 2015

We’ve had the weather of just about every month this December, excepting the weather of July, August, January, February, and…December, Today it was April, drab, rainy, and mild, as John Domico, Bob Cornwall, Tom Cali, Marty Klanchar, Mark Fedkin, Esther Prins, John Wilcock, Michael Goldfine, Andy Maguire, Mike Renz, CJ Wagner, Mike Martin, Bob Shafer, Dana Todd, Adam Ilgen, David Lloyd, and Marty Mazur for the track for the annual Jingle Bell Workout.

The Jingle Bell Workout has a lot of little traditions to it that have built up over the years. The Crew, decked out in Holiday attire, runs to the track from Rec Hall, then does a “Look Back” on the current year by running a lap backwards. It seems a lot longer than it is, and is actually quite therapeutic. Back at the starting line, we dash into the new year by running a lap in the forward direction. This feels really weird after the backward lap. After a photo op, it’s off to terrorize downtown. First we pay homage to Hill Queens past and present by running up and down the mountainous East Hall Steps (AKA the Meira Steps). Trail/Hill Queen Meira couldn’t make it today and she’s the only one who can sprint down the steps full throttle. Then we head up College Avenue and make the left at Allen St to visit Terry Losch at Rapid Transit Sports. The guys at RTS were in a good mood today. Next, we head up to Beaver and Allen and see if we can leave Kitchen Kaboodle the way we found it. Jeannie Klanchar knew we were coming so took the day off, but we gave the owner of KK minor heart palpitations as we blundered through her store. Finally, we headed to the Beaver parking garage for another spiral hill workout. At the top, there’s a great view of downtown and Mt. Nittany, perfect for another photo op.

Merry Christmas, to all, and Happy New Year. The next time we meet, on January 7, it’ll be the Shake Off The Cookie Crumbs And Get Ready For Indoor Mile Season Workout. (I’ll have to think of a shorter name for that one.)

A Soggy Thursday in April...er...December