Sue Moir said there were plenty of reasons to walk a 5K through Vancouver on Sunday morning: because she’s 61, she gets to see friends, and it’s good for her health.
“And, that way I get to drink afterwards and not have to worry about calories,” the Portland woman said, a cup of hot-buttered rum in hand.
Moir and hundreds of others took to the Vancouver streets Sunday morning, working off their Thanksgiving meals by racing in the fifth annual Hot Buttered Run. After all, the average American consumes more than 4,500 calories and 229 grams of fat on Thanksgiving, according to the Calorie Control Council.
And after racing in the event’s 5K, 12K or kids runs, the fitness-conscious participants refueled with snacks and were treated to hot-buttered rum or hot chocolate in Esther Short Park. Holiday music played throughout the park on a PA system as runners celebrated in their Santa hats or other Christmas attire.
Vickie Galluzzo of Vancouver ran in elf ears. It was her third time participating in the 12K run along with her brother, Dave Hauer of Corbett, Ore. The brother-sister duo said they’ve had an active year of runs and bike rides, and they’re not ready to quit any time soon.
“This has been an epic year for us,” Galluzzo said, adding that the run “was awesome.”
“We’re not good, but we do it because we can,” her brother, 60, said. “One old guy wouldn’t have made it if it wasn’t for the salted caramel Gu they supplied at mile 5,” he joked, holding up his empty packet of energy gel.
The Hot Buttered Run, organized by Energy Events, took participants through parts of downtown Vancouver, the Fort Vancouver National Site and along the Columbia River waterfront. Some proceeds from the event went toward Race to Remember, a nonprofit group that honors past and present military members.
“It was fabulous, fabulous,” Moir said of the event. She does several races a year and usually walks at a pace of 1 mile every 13 minutes, but “I did better than that today.”
Moir mixed walking with running and jogging on Sunday, she said.
After finishing her 5K and sipping her drink, Moir had her sights set on her first race of 2015: an 11K in Nepal, surrounded by views of the Himalayas.
“If you don’t use it, you lose it, so you might as well keep on walking,” Moir said.
One run leads to another
A group of five educators from the Forest Grove, Ore., area did the race in matching silver Santa hats and white tutus. They’ve been running together for at least two years, the five women said.
“It keeps us motivated to keep working out,” Lori Lester said.
The group planned to do the Hot Buttered Run for their first time in 2015, but a prize they received at the recent Mustache Dache in Oregon sped up those plans. They won a discounted registration rate for Sunday’s run through Vancouver.
Friends and former co-workers Brittany Huntington and Katie Pierson tackled the 12K race Sunday morning while sporting antler headbands.
“This is on the way home from Thanksgiving in Seattle,” said Huntington, who lives in Newport, Ore. She said the run was “cold, but it was beautifully sunny.”
She and Pierson agreed that the race allowed them to take in some nice scenery, particularly as they ran past the historic Fort Vancouver. Ending the event with some hot-buttered rum only sweetened the deal.
“Running for rum? I’m in,” Huntington said with a laugh. She offered celebratory cheers to Pierson, and the two bumped their rum cups together.
