Jingle All The Way 5k & 15k
The Pacers Running Jingle All The Way 5k & 15k took place on Sunday, December 10, 2017 in downtown Washington, D.C. I knew this would be a good race because it was festively themed and Pacers always has good races!

Pre-Race
The morning of the race I drove to Arlington and parked at the Pentagon City Mall. From there, I ordered a Lyft to take me downtown. The metro wasn’t slated to open until 8am, and I didn’t want to have to deal with finding a parking spot before the race. My ride to D.C. was quick, and I arrived at the National Monument about an hour before the 15k race time.

I did not pick up my packet before the race, so I got in the line for bib pick-up. It was a little before 8am at this point, and they wanted all of the 5k people to come to the front of the line. Understandable, but it was slightly annoying to have to just stand and wait for all of those late comers. Finally, I got my bib and picked up my awesome winter hat.

There was a row of port-o-potties at the race start, but there was also a few stalls of indoor bathrooms. There was no line for the bathrooms, so I was able to use them twice before the race began (just in case!).

The Course
The 15k course included two out-and-backs. We started at the Washington Monument and ran towards the Kennedy Center before turning around and heading to Haines Point. After that, we headed past the Washington Monument again for about a mile and a half until heading to the finish line.

The course was especially pretty because of the freshly fallen snow the day before and for the fact that the race ran next to the water for most of the course.

There were three water and Gatorade stops for the 15k, and one stop for the 5k.

Post-Race
At the end of the race, I went to collect my medal, a bottle of water, a heat blanket, and a banana. They were also handing out donuts and coffee. I heard rumors that there was also hot apple cider, but it was all gone by the time I finished. Our bib also had a ticket for a free burger from Shake Shack!

After stopped to quickly snap a few pictures with my medal, I ordered another Lyft. I was originally planning to take the metro back to my car, but I was getting cold. I also didn’t want to think about which direction to go to get to the metro station. And, Lyft was just easy. (It was less than $20 roundtrip, and I had free parking.)

More Info
Want to know how I did? Check out: http://adventuresbykatie.com/2017jinglealltheway5kand15k/