As 8-year-old Olivia Easter warmed up Sunday in the hot tub after gliding down a slip-and-slide on a rainy, 42-degree morning, her dad walked up to her and gave her a high-five.
“34:11. Good job,” Lance Easter told the girl. That was Olivia’s time in the 5K race she participated in earlier that morning as part of the fifth annual Resolution Run in Battle Ground.
It was the second time the Easter family, of Amboy, had done the Resolution Run, and not everyone in their family braved the so-called “Polar Bear Slide.” Lance conveniently left his swimming attire at home.
“She couldn’t wait,” he said of Olivia’s desire to hit the slip-and-slide. “She wanted me to, but I didn’t bring any shorts.”
That meant Lance had to watch his daughter enjoy the hot tub from land. It was only for members of the polar bear club.
“It was cold outside,” Olivia said, but “this is warm,” she said of the hot tub.
Also enjoying the exclusive hot-tub privileges on Sunday morning were 19-year-old Charlie Quinn and his dad, Joe Quinn, of Portland. It was Charlie’s first time doing the Battle Ground run, which starts at the Battle Ground Village shopping complex. It also was his first time doing any sort of polar bear slide or plunge.
“It’s perfect weather,” he joked. “I did the slide three times, so I’m not a rookie anymore.”
Charlie said his dad wakes him up early a few times a year to participate in different running events, and they do the Hood to Coast race together on a team called the Mighty Quinns.
The Polar Bear Slide was set up on some grass at the shopping complex. Several people took their turns, getting a running start across pavement before diving onto the slide.
Some even hit the slide in their running clothes. There was a changing room nearby that they could use afterward to put on a dry outfit.
An estimated 500 people did the Resolution Run on Sunday morning, the event’s director, Elba Benzler, said. The name of the run gives a nod to the New Year and healthy resolutions, and it allowed runners to participate in a 10K, a 5K or, for kids, a 1K.
Participants also went home with a free T-shirt and goodie bag, and they were treated to a pancake breakfast at the finish line. Beer was served for those old enough.
It was the third year in a row that the event featured a Polar Bear Slide and a hot tub — items runners don’t usually see at other race events, Benzler said. “We’re a little different, in a good way.”
Heather Hash of Vancouver is probably one of the run’s most experienced slip-and-sliders. She’s done the run every year, and the Polar Bear Slide for three of those years. On Sunday, she hit the slide seven times before stopping for a break in the hot tub.
She and others high-fived a boy as he headed into the hot tub from the Polar Bear Slide. Then she successfully convinced the man seated next to her to head down the slide one more time.
“You don’t get used to it; you just get numb and do it again,” Hash said.
