More than 375 Santas will be in St. Joseph on Saturday for the annual Santa 5K.
When organizers Max and Jami Painter and Brenda Hixson first started the run, they had no idea what a huge event it would become.
The idea was formed when a group of local runners were coming home from the Indianapolis Marathon and were discussing doing a Santa Hustle in Chicago or Indianapolis.
“But that is such a long drive for a run,” Max Painter said. “ I said wouldn’t it be cool to do a race like that in our community, everyone agreed and I thought that was the end.”
The next day Painter’s wife Jami and friend Brenda Hixson started researching what it would take to bring a Santa run to St. Joseph.
“That first year we had six weeks to put it all together,” Max said. “Luckily it was pre-Covid so things were easy to get. Every year it gets better with more time to prep and things we see we need to improve on.”
The race will start at 9 a.m. on Saturday with hot chocolate, cookies and milk as well as appearances by Santa and the Grinch. Participants are encourage to dress like Santa or in Christmas themed clothing.
“I do a lot of local races and some are meant to be fun and some are there and it’s grueling,” Max said. “Ours is definitely meant to be fun.”
Participants also receive Santa hats and beards, a long sleeve T-shirt and a race medal.
“We are so blessed to have so many sponsors what to be a part of our race,” Max said.
Max said seeing more than 300 people in their craziest Santa wear, running a 5K in the cold December weather is an amazing sight to see.
“It is absolutely like nothing you have ever been apart of,” he said.
The event gave away four St. Joseph Scholarships last year and also donated to multiple charities. Max said he encourages the community to come out and cheer on the runners.
“This is the kind of event that can really define a community,” he said. “It really is a super fun event to be a part of.”
Same day registration is available in downtown St. Joseph from 7 a.m. until 9 a.m.
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