Santa Fun Run

Over 150 people got a running start on the Christmas season on Saturday, December 2nd. The second annual Santa Fun Run invited those looking to combine healthful outdoor exercise with the Christmas spirit to “run, jog, walk, roll, stroll, or scoot” around Mackle Park and its lake while raising money for a pair of good causes. 

Arne and Jill Sandberg, who originated the event last year, once again organized the run and covered all the expenses, so 100 percent of the funds taken in went to the community. Jill is a member of the Noontime Rotary, and Arne belongs to the Sunrise Rotary, so they naturally turned to Rotarians and Interact students from Marco Island Academy to help out as volunteers. The serious runners covered three miles, while the walkers and casual participants did a mile and a half. 

“We need runs on the island, and we’re Santa’s elves,” said Arne, so the pairing made sense. The weather cooperated, and after he instructed participants, Mary Jo O’Regan sang the National Anthem, and they were off. 

Costumes were encouraged, and some took that and, well, ran with it in a variety of Christmas attire. Many made it a family affair, with couples, children, parents, and grandparents covering the course together.

For their entry fee – $30 for adults, $20 for those 10 to 17, and free for children under 10 – each participant received a Santa hat, a Santa Fun Run t-shirt, a finisher’s medal, and the traditional milk and cookies after completing the course. 

The fastest finisher ran the course in 20 minutes, two seconds, said Sandberg, but he didn’t catch the name – “I was too busy cheering.” In any event, there were no medals or prizes for first place – the real winners were the Marco Police Foundation and the Sunrise Rotary’s charitable efforts. 

“We raised $3,845 in registration fees,” said Arne. “No expenses come out of that,” so $1,922.50 will go to the police foundation and $1,922.50 to the Rotary Club. He planned to present the checks to each organization at their meetings this week. 

Arne and Jill wore Christmas-themed clothing for the Santa Run, but they saved their full elf costumes, worthy of the Will Ferrell movie, for the tree lighting later that evening at Veterans’ Community Park.