The 25th Annual Reindeer Run 5k was held at Lake Harriet in Minneapolis on Saturday, December 1st. This is a race that wouldn’t have been on my radar, had it not been for the suggestion by the ladies in my running group. Being easily persuaded, I signed up.

The morning of the race was mild, though cool, and overcast. Pretty much perfect for running, if you ask me.

This race is a fun run with no official timing, and therefore, no starting corrals or lining up according to pace. It’s also a popular race, so the trail is quite crowded. I spent most of the race dodging around walkers.

The race course is simply one loop around Lake Harriet, starting and ending near the band shell (amphitheater?). It’s a pretty area and the path is fairly flat and smooth. I’m guessing for the fast runners who lined up near the front, it would be a fast course with good PR potential; however, for anyone lined up farther back, too much time is spent dodging walkers to really work on speed.

There were a few vendors at the race giving away goodies such as water bottles, key chains and leftover shirts from previous races during the year. For the inexpensive (I think it was $25) entry fee, it’s a good time with some perks. The hot chocolate provided after the race was a welcome treat on a cold morning.

This race benefits Toys for Tots, but unfortunately I didn’t plan far enough ahead to pick up a toy to donate. If I do this race in the future, this will be a priority. I’m a supporter of Toys for Tots and donate annually.

Shirts from the race were red, long-sleeve cotton T-shirts with the reindeer logo on the front. Personally, I love long-sleeve t-shirts, so I thought these were perfectly festive for this time of year.

Overall, I think it’s a good race, though I do recommend running without a time goal in mind and arriving early enough to find parking nearby. I also recommend running in a holiday-themed costume, which I will do if I participate in this race again.

Unofficial finishing time was 33:46.