With winter comes many fun activities, and Norman Parks and Recreation is adding to the holiday festivities with its fourth annual Ugly Sweater 5K and fun run on Saturday.
Norman Parks and Recreation, which will provide the race site and road closures, is partnering with Oklahoma Race Company to provide professional timing and a time chip for 5K participants.
This year’s 5K course is an out-and-back, beginning at Legacy Park in north Norman. Participants will start in the park, head onto Interstate Drive, double back at the roundabout south of the Subaru dealership and return to Legacy Park.
Debbie Uglean, co-founder of the Oklahoma Race Company, said runners can expect a family-friendly, festive atmosphere while running through the lights with support from local businesses. StretchLab is expected to bring a stretch table for runners.
“There’s going to be hot chocolate there, provided by Beanstalk Coffee. … We do all of our packet pickups at Beanstalk Coffee on the west side of town Friday night, …” Uglean said. “Raising Cane's will be there with tea and lemonade to give out to the community. I’m in talks with Texas Roadhouse to come out.”
While this 5K is ugly sweater themed, Norman Parks and Recreation has hosted other unique 5Ks.
“We had a ‘May the Course Be With You 5K,’ which was ‘Star Wars’ themed, and they brought all the costumed characters,” Uglean said.
The Ugly Sweater 5K and fun run is inspired by “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.”
“There's a character in there called Cousin Eddie, and he comes and stays in his trailer outside of the main character's home. So Norman parks and rec is trying to find a trailer, to set out there along the side and we're going to have somebody dressed up as Cousin Eddie. There's a lot of references to the movie in the medals and the bibs and marketing,” Uglean said.
Uglean also spoke about Oklahoma Race Company’s connection to Norman Parks and Recreation. Former Norman Mayor Breea Clark launched an initiative during her tenure called “Move with the Mayor,” where she invited residents to join her for activities that highlight city parks and encourage physical activity. Uglean reached out to Clark about timing one of her events, which led to the city partnering with Norman Parks and Recreation.
“I just took a chance and reached out to her on Facebook to see if she'd let us time her event, …” Uglean said. “Once we did that, she liked what we did, and she recommended us to Norman parks and rec because they were already doing some runs. … So that's what started the relationship four years ago.”
For some runners, a 5K is part of a larger competitive goal. The Ugly Sweater 5K course is USA Track & Field certified.
“We try to hold as many races on a certified course as possible because there are some people who are trying to earn their credit towards larger events,” Uglean said.
Certifying a 5K requires using a Jones Counter attached to a bicycle wheel. The rider measures the course by stopping at each mile to record coordinates. The data is entered into software that calculates the official course distance, which is then submitted to USA Track & Field for approval.
For many racers, accurate timing is essential. According to Performance Race Timing, accurately timed races keep races fair, build trust between racers and the race organizer as runners are able to trust their race times, and encourage racers to run in future races.
“We lay down the timing equipment, which (consists of) mats that have RFID technology that shoot up and capture the RFID tags on the racers’ bibs. We use the same brand of equipment that is used in the Olympics, so it's highly accurate, …” Uglean said. “It's a lot of data manipulation to make sure that the results are correct and immediate.”
The 5K race is from 6:30 to 8 p.m. and the fun run is 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Legacy Park. Registration is available online starting at $25 for the fun run and $35 for the 5K. Race shirts cost $15.
This story was edited by Madisson Cameron. Larkin Bock, Mary Ann Livingood and Sophie Hemker copy edited this story.
