Fashionable workout wear was out and absurd tacky sportswear was in during the 2015 Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall Commander's Race Series Operation Santa "Ugly Sweater" 5K Run and 1-Mile Walk Dec. 4, which kicked off at the Fort Myer Fitness Center on the Fort Myer portion of the joint base.
Registrants decked out in their "holiday ugliest" received reindeer antlers and over-indulged in candy canes prior to making the roughly three-mile trek.
Some runners were more creative than others, like U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Nathaniel Barthell, who channeled the North Pole's senior misfit Will Ferrell as "Buddy the Elf." He was dressed in a full elf uniform that was equally too small and over-the-top, complete with a curly brown afro atop his head and a half-used bottle of maple syrup in hand.
Barthell was joined with seven other runners who ran as a team from Headquarters Command Battalion.
"This is my family," Barthell said. "We came to support each other in the holiday spirit. If one person says they're going to do it, we get together and decide to all do it."
Those sentiments were echoed by runners of all ages, including a handful of grade-school participants from the Cody Child Development Center, who also were decked out in their holiday ugliest.
"The kids just grabbed whatever and it ranged from '80s glam to 3-D novelty - it didn't take them long to get creative," said Annette Engum, Youth Sports and Fitness director within the Cody Child Development Center.
The "Ugly Sweater" 5K and 1-Mile Walk was the last event in the Commander's Race Series for 2015. The next race - the Shamrock Shuffle - is set for March 18, according to JBM-HH Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation's race organizer Todd Hopkins.
Hopkins advises everyone affiliated both with the race and the JBM-HH community, that in lieu of the break in event schedule, people should remain active over the next few months and avoid over-indulging.
U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Lloyd Ingling agreed.
"You have to make time for yourself throughout the holidays," Ingling said. "Make time during the holidays to do 30 to 60 minutes of physical activity every day throughout the week. It's great for your physical health, mental health and attitude. It makes you a better person."
Results from the race: First place runners in the men, women and youth overall category were Kurt Rorvik with a time of 20:03, Jennifer Ritchie with a time of 27:40, and Quinn Plummer with a time of 23:00.
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