Tempe will experience a large dose of holiday cheer Saturday at 10 a.m. when runners of all ages don festive sweaters and Santa Claus hats to participate in the city's inaugural Ugly Sweater Run.
City of Tempe spokeswoman Denise Rentschler said the city is looking forward to bringing this national event to Tempe.
"It is a run held across the nation, and we are very excited to add them to another one of our special events that we’re able to offer to our residents and visitors on an annual basis," she said.
The Ugly Sweater Run is an event organized by The Human Movement, a Colorado-based event management company. The event will feature a 5K run, free hot chocolate stations, holiday music, snow blowers and more.
Human Movement spokeswoman Amber DiGiallonardo said the Ugly Sweater Run started as a small event.
"It started in 2011 in our hometown of Louisville, Colorado," she said. "We kind of did it as a test run to see if the community would be interested in it, and it was a huge success."
Since then, DiGiallonardo said the Ugly Sweater Run has gained popularity throughout the U.S.
"Last year, we expanded it to seven cities and we again saw a great turnout, great support from the community," she said. "This year, we’ve grown to 31 cities, five cities per weekend, six weekends straight this season."
DiGiallonardo said the Human Movement is expecting a great turnout this weekend, especially because of the event's proximity to ASU.
This was a huge factor in choosing Tempe, especially because the age range for 5K races in general is young people, she said.
In contrast to a competitive marathon, the Ugly Sweater Run is classified as a "fun run" and is open to all ages, she said.
"Since we classify it as a 'fun run', it’s for anyone, for little kids, for anyone doing a 5K for the first time, we encourage them to come to this because we don’t time it at all, " she said. "Everyone can go at their own pace, even if you’re a marathoner extraordinaire, we invite them to join us as well."
Criminal justice and criminology junior Kimmy Shely said this run sounds like fun, especially compared to other marathons in which she has participated.
"This would be the type of event I’d be interested in," she said. "It’s always fun when marathons have a theme instead of just being purely about running."
Global studies senior Portia Portugal said she would love to participate in the Ugly Sweater Run.
"Ugly sweaters are one of my favorite parts of the holidays," she said. "If I had known about it sooner, or hear about it next year, I would definitely attend."
In keeping with the holiday spirit, the Ugly Sweater Run has partnered with Toys for Tots and runners may bring a new toy for donation to place under the event's inflatable Christmas tree.
For more information and to register for the Ugly Sweater Run, visit its website.
Reach the reporter at semann@asu.edu or follow her on Twitter @SunDevilStyle
