On Saturday, December 7th, the 9th annual Ugly Christmas Sweater 5K and Kids Fun Run will be held at the LeClaire Civic Center. The Kids Fun Run will begin at 9:30 a.m., with the 5K following at 10:00 a.m.
On top of the races, there will be an Ugly Christmas Sweater contest at 9:45 a.m.
This event is part of the 40th annual Christmas in LeClaire. Attendees are not only able to participate in the 5K, but also to support the local businesses. This race is also known as the “Funnest 5K in the QCA.”
“It’s a great time for all ages.” Lori McFate said, one of the race directors and a long-time runner. “We encourage people with strollers, small children, even dogs on leashes are welcome.”
Every year, the 5K donates money to a cause right here in the Quad Cities area. This year, their cause was raising money for a local cancer patient Missy Parkin. Unfortunately, a few weeks ago, Missy sadly lost their battle with cancer and passed away. Half of the funds from this race will go toward their medical and funeral expenses, with the other half going toward a local boy named Wyatt, who is currently battling childhood cancer.
“It’s been a very sad situation for the entire Quad City community,” McFate said. “The funds will be split between those two families.”
This race has become a staple of the annual Christmas in LeClaire weekend. Not only does this event bring a community of runners to LeClaire, but it also brings customers to all the small businesses for the holiday season.
There are many sponsors of this event ranging from all over the Quad Cities Area. Some of the sponsors include the LeClaire Civic Center, Keith and Company, Accentra Credit Union, Happy Joes, and many more.
“We’re all about marketing LeClaire,” McFate said. “The people, the shops, small businesses, women-owned businesses. “
In addition to all of this, there is another pull to the 5K. The Ugly Christmas Sweater 5K is known for the designs on its race sweatshirts. Every year, there is a theme and characters featured on the sweatshirts, and this year, Shaggy and Scooby-Doo are the faces of this race.
There is a high demand for these sweatshirts, and that’s why the “Sleep In” option was put in place, where people do not have to attend the race but are still able to support through the purchase of a sweatshirt.
“We always have our famous hoodie,” McFate said. “I think that’s probably one thing that everybody really, really wants to get in on. We’re all about the ugly sweater message.”
Registration for this event ends November 25th. For more information about this race, head to the “Christmas in LeClaire ‘Ugly Christmas Sweater 5K’” Facebook page, or www.visitleclaire.com.