Holiday-bedecked or not, Yule Run ready for registrants, onlookers

By Sherry Lucas

Dust off those running shoes and kick into gear for Clinton’s 2025 Yule Run, set for 7 a.m. on Saturday, December 6.

The popular Christmas-themed, 7 to 9 a.m. run is the perfect warmup for the 10 a.m. Clinton Chamber Christmas Parade, which hits the streets with a seasonal glow after the Yule Run wraps up.

Both events boast a Candy Cane Lane theme for 2025, and organizers hope participants and onlookers, too, will join with festive spirit and Yuletide-themed touches. Advance sign up for the 8th annual Yule Run’s 8K Run, 5K Run or 5K Walk is available at runsighup.com, or onsite signups can be done on race day from 6 to 7 a.m. at the run’s start/finish line at the corner of Jefferson and Madison streets.

Last year’s Yule Run hit a participation peak with three hundred runners.

“It was a great event, and went off without a hitch,” Yule Run organizer Nathan Cummins said of achieving their biggest participation to date, not only in signups, but actual runners on the course.

This year, the run is on track for the same high count, with two hundred signups the week before Thanksgiving, and more expected.

“We see a lot the last couple of weeks, and anticipate close to the same number as last year,” he said. “We’re hoping, anyway.”

The Yule Run still has some virtual runners, an option started during the pandemic and a good choice for title sponsor Continental’s employees in other locations who still want to participate, plus any others who want to join in, but can’t make it to town.

Yule Runners like the event’s finisher medal and its relaxed vibe, Cummins said.

“Everyone, regardless of the race they run, their age, whether they’re fast, slow, whatever, gets a finisher medal. There’s no pressure to finish in a high place to get a reward, since there’s a finisher medal.”

Other draws: The fun holiday theme and the fact that it’s perfectly positioned to catch the Clinton Chamber Christmas Parade right after the run finishes up. Runners can catch their breath, relax with a cup of coffee and maybe some breakfast, then watch the parade roll past.

Red run shirts and candy cane medals add to fun. A sponsor will be handing out candy canes at some point at the event, Cummins said.

Last year saw some runners in elf-themed outfits, and Cummins hopes for some of the same theme tie-ins this year.

“We’ve had it just about every year, somebody dressed for Christmas fun. We encourage that and hope it happens.”

With this theme’s candy cane slant, striped socks should be all the rage for 2025.