Christmas themed runs in the Bay Area 2013

Christmas time is another unique time for the sport of running. Just like Thanksgiving, runners come out of the wood work to run and volunteer at the many, many runs offered all over the Bay Area. Our sport is cool that way. We raise a ton of money for charity and we dress up in whacky costumes. We have 15 runs available to us this year including costume runs an ugly sweater run (lol) and even an underwear run! Join in the fun and support our local charities by running or volunteering at one of the following holiday themed races.

2014 calendar here

2014 Christmas themed races around the Bay Area

CHRISTMAS 2014

Sunday November 30th

• Run Wild San(ta) Francisco - 5k Run/Walk- Crissy Field- San Francisco

Saturday December 6th

• Holiday Hustle- 10k, Half, Marathon- Harvey Bear Ranch County Park, Morgan Hill
• DAM Jingle Bell Dash- 5k, 10k, Kids Dash- San Pablo Dam, Orinda
• Naughty or Nice- 5k, Kids Run- Hellyer County Park, San Jose
• Santa Skivvies Run- 1.6 mi- UN Plaza, San Francisco
• Strawberry Point School Jingle Jog - 4mi, 1mi- Strawberry Shopping Center, Mill Valley
•  Reindeer Run- 5k/ 10k- Wetlands Edge View Area Trail Head, American Canyon
• Six Flags Holiday in the Park- 5k- Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, Vallejo
• Ugly Sweater Dash- 5k- Alameda County Fairgrounds, Pleasanton

Sunday December 7th

• Jingle Bell Rock- 5k- San Lorenzo Park, Santa Cruz
• Jingle Bell Run/ Walk for Arthritis- 1k, 5k- Downtown, San Rafael

Saturday December 13th

• Hark the Hearald Angels Run- 12k, 25k- Angel Island State Park, Tiburon
• The Holiday Run and Walk for Health- 10k, 3mi, 1mi, Kids Dash- Contra Loma Regional Park, Antioch

Sunday December 14th

• TiVo Santa Run Silicon Valley- 5k Run/ Walk- Santa Clara Street, between Almaden Boulevard and San Pedro Street, San Jose
• Jingle Run- 5k Run/Walk- Los Altos
• Winter RUNderland- 5k, 1 mi- Chrissy Field, San Francisco

Saturday December 20th

• Holiday Hustle- 5k, 10k- Trinity Lutheran Church, 1323 Central Ave, Alameda
• Santa's Christmas Gold Rush- 5 Mile Run, Stroll, Walk- Courtyard Marriott, Richmond

Sunday December 21st

• UjENA Christmas 5k run/walk- Hart Middle School- Pleasanton

Trail Races in December around the Bay Area 2013

We have a lot of really great races taking place in the Bay Area in December. The downside is that; as of this posting quite a few of the events are sold out because they are just that popular. I've listed them all in this article and I have included all of the "Santa Runs" that I previously posted in an article here, which are not all trail runs. I may be a little biased in saying this, because it is in my back yard, but we have two opportunities to run in Huddart County Park this month. If you have never made the trip to Woodside (just outside of Redwood City) to do any runs.......  this is a must in my opinion. We truly are blessed to have runnable weather in the month of December. Most of the rest of the country is knee deep in cross training already and we are still racing! How awesome is that. Take a look at the calendar below and get out there and support our cold weather running scene.

Racing through the Christmas Season

The Christmas season is the season for traditions. No other holiday brings out more traditions than Christmas. From when to put up & take down the tree and the lights outside, if you put them up outside that is, to where you spend Christmas Eve and every other little detail you can think of; we all have our very own personal way of navigating the holidays. My wife and I have a few traditions we have developed over the years. The tree goes up the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Black Friday must be observed! Not for shopping per se but for being out in the energy of the season. Union Square in downtown San Francisco is a day trip that happens every year as well. We do a little shopping, have a coffee while looking at the tree and the ice skaters and then we end the evening at the top of Macy's at the Cheesecake Factory overlooking the city having dinner. This is our every Christmas date night.

3 basic steps for reigning in the holiday season weight gain.

Eat too much over the holidays?

So I went a little crazy over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Alot of you probably did too. I gained 3 lbs and I started out on the heavy side of my normal weight range so overall I need to drop 5 to 10 pounds to get back to where I like to be. 5lbs is acceptable and 10lbs would be awesome. I know how to do this in a smart and controlled way so I am not stressing about it and thats my first piece of advise to you too.